The Last Olympian
by WolfDReamer11
Summary: When Percy invites Nico in, he has no idea what his news will bring. Action, adventure, laughs, love and a stunning conclusion are in this fanfic of the conclusion to the crazy-good series, PJO. R
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Author's Note: Okay, here is the new version of chapter 1. From now on, I'll just pute a tag on the beinning to let you know if it's new or not. Here it is:

REDO

Chapter 1

The next day, Mom drove me back to Camp. It seems I wasn't going to 9th grade this year after all. For once, I had actually been looking the tiniest bit forward to school…oh well. Tyson wasn't with me either. Dad had called him down for a special project that had to be started immediately. So it was just me.

The ride was uneventful, but I was jumpy thinking about Nico and my conversation.

_Nico sat there, hungrily wolfing down the slice of cake I gave him. When he was finished, he wiped his mouth on his sleeve, and looked up at me somberly._

"_You're not going to like my news, Percy."_

"_Doesn't matter. What's going on?"_

"_As you know, I've been in the Underworld, doing research, expanding my powers." He made a face. "Not fun. Anyway, the lawyer that came and got Bianca and I was my father. Speaking of him, he's impossible. Can't talk to him about _anything_. Too busy for his own son, I guess. Except this ring," he held out his hand. "Gave it to me for transportation, communication." He saw my questioning glance, but glared, and I knew the subject was off limits._

"_So, what about the big plan?" I prodded._

_He sighed. "It's just, it's too...absurd," he chuckled dryly. "Luke would hate it. Repeating history. You know how in the first war, the Gods cut up Kronos with his own scythe?"_

"_Yeah. So?"_

_He got up and started pacing. "Think, Percy. That scythe is the single most powerful object in the universe. What if we could get a hold of it? The titans would be sunk. It gets better, too. We actually might have a shot, because when (for once), my dad consented to talk, he said he wasn't sure, but he thinks that if the scythe is destroyed, Kronos might be too."_

"_How can Kronos be destroyed? He's immortal!"_

"_That scythe is his life source. Apparently, he used so much of his power trying to find it and restore it, that his soul is actually now in the scythe."_

"_Ok-ay. How could we destroy it?"_

"_As I said, I've been doing lots of research. As far as I know, it can not be fully destroyed. I think, and don't quote me on this, but I __think__, that if it was to be soaked in the River Styx, thought, it might freeze so severely that it would imprison Kronos's soul inside. But we would need all of the power of Olympus to even attempt such a thing."_

"_How would that help?"_

"_It would give the gods a few centuries or so to figure out something else. Dad said he would look into safer security for Tartarus, but don't expect too much."_

_Great. But out loud, I said. "That's...great Nico. Have you told Chiron yet?"_

"_I sent a message."_

"_Well we need to get to camp. Get this started."_

"_We?"_

"_Well, yeah. You have to be there."_

"_I have other things I need to look into. Time is running short. And you're the prophesy kid anyway. I'll come when I'm needed. As for now, I'm off."_

"_Do you need anything? _

"_No. Go to camp. I'll be seeing you soon, thought."_

"_How will you travel?"_

"_The ring, duh."_

"_Can it transport more than one person?"_

_He frowned. "I don't think that would be smart. Potentially painful." Nico climbed back out the window. Gray clouds started forming around him._

"_Nico? If we destroy/freeze Kronos, will Luke...die?"_

"_Percy, he's as good as dead already. But yes, he will die." The clouds got thicker around him. "See you," he said, and vanished._

Was he insane? Did we really have to go that far? Was it possible? I dozed fitfully, but my dreams weren't pleasant.

As we rounded the final bend, I woke up. Half-Blood Hill was as green as ever, dandelions everywhere. Thalia's former tree stood tall with the fleece glinting in the sunlight. Peleus, the guard dragon was up and alert. He must have scented me already. It didn't look like a place that would be soon preparing for war, but that's what was going to happen. I hugged my Mom goodbye, and hiked up the hill.

Everything seemed to be normal. The Hermes cabin was up to _something_, as usual. The archery class was hitting (mostly) bulls-eyes. The kids riding the Pegasi were whooping as they played battle tag in the air. I could distantly hear the thoughts of the Pegasi complaining when the demigods would turn too sharply or insist on another barrel roll. I smiled.

And down by the beach…what was that? I jogged over, and hid in the shadows, trying to get a peak. The Aphrodite cabin and the Hephaestus cabin were building something together. It looked like a large platform, maybe big enough to hold 120 standing half-bloods (there are about 140 at camp), with stairs and a stage. Silena and Beckendorf seemed to be in charge, giving orders and tips to the rest of the crew. I might have approached them, when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Percy! When did you get here?"

"Hey, G-Man. Long time no see!"

We slapped hi-fives. I hadn't seen him since last summer. He filled me in on what he had been doing, and it was pretty cool. He's been sending brigade after brigade of satyrs out to save and defend what little of the wild they can find. They have an official map, and at last count, they had found a little over 200 wild places. It depressed me. I mean, it was great they found anything at all, and the work they'd done was awesome. But to know that so little of the wild remained…it was sad. I swore to myself that when this insanity was over, I would work harder to help Grover.

We wandered around camp for a while, and it was a good experience. Even with Nico's crazy plan hanging over me like the sword of Damocles, it was good to reacquaint myself with the sensations of home. Everything was fine, until we reached the beach. Peering out over the ocean, what at first looked like sunshine on water was now identifiable as the glint of honey-blonde hair. Oh Gods. Annabeth.

I wasn't really sure where I stood with her. I mean, I know she was angry at me at first, but it wasn't like she was openly glaring. But ever since the "Battle of the Labyrinth" quest was over, she had been distant. Avoiding me. And it wasn't like I wasn't avoiding her too. I knew that she was hurt, but I just didn't quite know how to say I was sorry, or to comfort her. The few times I'd tried hadn't ended very well. We had e-mailed every so often over the summer, but even the e-mails seemed remote. This was made worse by the fact that I just couldn't stop thinking about her. Every time my mind wandered, it always went to _her_. It was awkward, to say the least. Despite all that, I decided to go say hi. She'd kill me if I were here without even speaking to her.

I wanted to try out at neat little trick I'd found over the summer. Hopefully it'd work. I went and kneeled where the tide came in, submerging my face. Since I can breathe underwater, this wasn't a problem. Barely raising my voice above normal, I called out,

"Hey, Annabeth."

I got the reaction I was hoping for. Her head popped out of the water, looking about wildly. When she spotted me, her face had a look of complete bafflement. I grinned, and motioned for her to go back under.

"Hey. Neat trick, huh?"

She surfaced again, smiled back, and waved while she swam to shore. She came out of the water dripping, and I handed her the towel I assumed was her's. She was wearing a dark blue racer suit that looked great on her. The first thing she said was,

"How come you didn't tell me you were coming to camp?"

"Dunno," I shrugged, "But it's good to see you again."

She smiled hesitantly. "You too, Percy. How did you do that voice-in-the-water thing?"

"Oh, that. Apparently, I can project my voice underwater. Found out about a month ago when I shouted to Tyson underwater. Nearly busted his eardrums, and mine too. The water amps up your voice."

She laughed, and I hadn't realized how much I'd missed her till then. Still, it bugged me. She seemed kind of reserved, secluded. Protecting herself. From me? Why?

"Do you know what the Hephaestus and Aphrodite cabins are building?"

"Uh…" her voice changed, set at a nervous pitch. "Um, not sure exactly. Have you talked to Chiron yet?"

I realized she was trying to change the subject, but I let it slide.

"Oh crap, no. I was looking for him when…"

"Right," she said, looking distant. _O Zeu_. Not again. Hesitantly, I started,

"Is everything okay? You're acting weird."

"What?" She tried at a light-hearted smile, but it came out forced. "I am?"

"Never mind."

"Okay."

I was really uncomfortable now. We had never been this guarded around each other before.

"I'll see you soon then, Seaweed Brain," she said, then drifted off. I stared. Not even the invocation of my now fondly used nickname could change my judgment.

There was something wrong with her, or I'm a Cyclops. I've seen her in every mood, but never before has she been so…spacey. Like she's not really there, her mind is a million miles off. I don't have to tell you how wrong that is. Grover gave me a tired, bittersweet smile.

"Don't worry," was all he said. "Go see Chiron."


	2. Chapter 2

REDO

Chapter 2

Don't worry? Oh, yeah right. But Grover _is_ the one that reads emotions, so I decided to put Annabeth's troubles to the side, just for a minute.

We didn't need to find Chiron. He found us. Turns out he already knew about Nico's plan. He had sent a messenger up to Olympus months ago with a company of half-bloods, 20 strong, but no response except Mr. D (obviously not of his own free will) IM'd him to say that discussions were 'continuing' and that we would hear the judgment 'soon'. Snort. Translated in to plain English, this means: 'We have no idea what to do, and we'll continue to argue until the end of the world'. I'll admit, I was angry, and I wasn't the only one. Campers had been arguing with their parents all summer, but all they would ever do was shrug, and say they would try to hurry things along or ignore them. Why couldn't the Gods ever make up their minds? I wanted to send another gang of half-bloods straight up to Olympus to give them a piece of our mind, but Chiron convinced me not to. At worst, we would be incinerated. At best, laughed at and turned away. It was no use. At least, direct rebellion wasn't. An idea started to drift at the edges of my brain, but I forced it away for later.

The rest of the day, I spent getting back into camp spirit, trying to ignore my worries. All I wanted to do was jump on to Blackjack and be off, but there was no point in stressing over it now. And the other campers had no idea about Nico or his plan. Chiron had classified it top-secret, and made me swear on pain of death (or at least a wounding) to keep it a secret. Even Annabeth didn't know. That made me feel funny. When it came to these things, I wanted us to be on the same page, it felt wrong otherwise. But would she listen, or shut me out? Chiron silenced these thoughts into not-so-meek submission with his famous 'stern look'. It works better than even Clarisse's death glare.

My day passed without any trouble until riding lessons. We were practicing fighting-while-passing. I was matched against Silena Beauregard. We were the last pair before Lunch.

Chuckling confidently to myself, I set Blackjack in the right position. I knew I could take her, easy. We circled for a few seconds, eyeing each other warily. I got some leverage, then swooped down, hoping she would put her sword up in the classic defense maneuver. From there, it would be easy to knock her off balance, making her drop her sword.

Whoosh, down, steady Blackjack. Score! She put her arm up. But what I didn't expect was her to smack me on the back of the head with her sword. It caught me when I was leaning off to the side, so it made me lose my balance. I tried to backhand her, but she was too quick. She followed with a quick slice at my arm with a knife she had hidden somewhere. It _hurt_, too. Blackjack tried to shift to get me back on board, but that made it worse. I fell. We were maybe 60-70 feet in the air, but Silena was amazingly fast. We had all practiced what to do if someone fell, but none of us had ever had to really use it. I would say I only fell 20 feet when suddenly there I was, draped across the butt of Silena's pegasi. The other kids cracked up. Normally I might have thought this was pretty funny too, but my arm was spurting blood like crazy, and I was really dizzy. Silena glanced back, barely concerned.

"S'Okay Percy. Hold on, I'm going down."

We landed near the creek, where I submerged my arm. In less than ten seconds, the cut was gone. I guess I should be used to it by now. Silena gave me an ambrosia square, and I chewed on it methodically, trying to get my wits back.

"What you did back there, that balance maneuver, that was really good." I said.

"Yeah, well, I've been practicing. And," she flashed me a smile, "You were just too good."

"Ha-ha. Thanks, anyway."

"You're welcome. Someone had to knock you off."

I was about to give an angry retort, when I looked to the beach.

"Hey, what are you doing on the beach with Beckendorf?"

She gave me a mock-horrified expression.

"You don't know? Ask Annabeth." I started to feel nervous.

"Why Annabeth?"

She grinned mischievously. "You really don't know…"

"Silena, what's going on?"

"I thought you might have put it together by now, but no, alas."

The horrible truth dawned on me. I felt ready to throw up.

"You're organizing a dance," I said in a voice of despair. "And you're building a platform."

"Yes!!!" she squealed. I groaned.

"Why?"

"We thought it might be fun."

I groaned again.

"Don't be such a party pooper," she said, wagging a finger at me. "Some people like to have fun."

_Uh-huh_, I muttered in my head.

"Does everyone know about it?"

"Yep, I'm fairly sure they do."

_Oh great._

"Don't worry," she said. "It's not formal or anything. It's actually a swimsuit dance, meaning you can wear your swimsuit, if you want."

"It's not that I'm worried about," I muttered, but apparently, Silena heard me.

"Oh, I get it. Annabeth? She'll be thrilled if you ask her. And yes, the guys have to ask the girls."

I turned scarlet. "How do you know about Annabeth?"

She smirked. "It doesn't take a satyr, or even a child of Aphrodite to figure that one out."

I stood up abruptly. "It's lunch time. We should get going."

"Okay."

I turned to go, but Silena put a hand on my shoulder.

"Percy? I'm not like my mom that way. I'm not going to interfere with your life if you really don't want me to. But, I'll be here if you want to talk to someone."

I smiled. Silena was a really good friend sometimes.

"Thanks Silena."


	3. Chapter 3

REDO

Chapter 3

Days passed. The infamous dance was in a week. The only thing anyone was talking about was who they were going with. I mean, you'd think that'd get old or something, but noooo, they jabbered on about it day and night. The Aphrodite cabin was suddenly the most popular place on the island. I heard they were selling love advice, 3 dollars or a drachma per session. Of course, I was never near enough to find out. Despite Silena's offer, I avoided the place like Hades.

Maybe I should have gone though. I was going insane. My heart immediately liked the idea of asking Annabeth to a dance, and reminded me of the slow, sweet dance we shared on Olympus, or the kiss we shared. But my brain was pushing me the other way. To be honest, I was scared. Challenge the War God? Bring it on. Asking Annabeth to do something even remotely romantic? Total panic. I was scared of her reaction. I remembered when she'd asked me to the fireworks after the Dragon incident, and it had kind of become our tradition since then. But despite the fact that it was _the_ dating event, it was only a friendly thing between us, not like: _romantic_. And it was two years ago, and she'd asked me. And it was her that kissed me, not the other way 'round. She had to like me some, right? At least, that's what I told myself. It was hard to even be around her. Anytime she looked my direction, my mouth threatened to spill over with all the things I wanted to say. If it was possible, we avoided each other even more than last summer, not to bring _that_ up again_._ Things had been so weird. I remember the venomous looks Annabeth sent at Rachel, Rachel commenting on me being "blind", the constant fighting between the two. Could that have had something to do with all this? Annabeth kisses me. I fall for Calypso, then break her heart. Chiron tells me Annabeth's jealous. The nasty comments between Annabeth and Rachel. I promised to get _Rachel_ out of the Anteus situation, ignoring Annabeth. Could she have been hurt by that? I didn't mean it that way. And much later, Annabeth's words still stung,

"So, you _want_ him to be evil, is that it?"

And when it was done, Rachel said, "Go save the world for me, okay?" And I'd agreed. Or on the hill, saying goodbye to camp for another year, Annabeth's prophecy,

"Love a love to worse that death."

And Luke was the love. Then she just walked away, didn't look back. Could we really have hurt each other so badly?

So that's how I lived. Every night I made myself swear I would ask her, and every morning I chickened out. During the day, it's like my eyes were glued to her, because I just couldn't look away. And with every reason I came up with not to do it, another dropped out of nowhere for me to do just that. Boy vs. Brain vs. Heart. By the day before _it,_ I was so full of conflicting emotions I felt about to explode. I went down to the sword arena, but it was full. Muttering in frustration, I headed down to the seashore. I always think clearly when I'm near the ocean. Not bothering to strip, I jumped in the water. Why not? They won't get wet, anyway.

I swam out a ways and willed the currents to support me, then leaned back, and sighed. It was peaceful out here, which was much more than I could say for my past couple of days. Gods, I was so mad. I had been blaming it on the dance and the situation on Olympus, but I realized I was more mad at myself than anything. I was mad because I couldn't get up the courage to ask Annabeth, or to confront myself on the situation. What was wrong with me?

I guess I must have zoned out or something, because the next thing I saw was a small figure on the beach waving at me. Furry. Grover. Letting the currents carry me back, I wondered what he wanted. Was there a new development in the Wild?

Grover helped me out of the water, and we sat together on the beach, staring out at the sunset. Finally, I asked,

"How did you know I was here?"

He scoffed. "Are you kidding? If you had sent up a flare it wouldn't have been anymore obvious. I was on the other side of the island, but I could feel the anger radiating from you as if you were right next to me."

"Oh. Sorry."

He smiled. "Don't be. I just came down to talk. What's up?"

"Don't you already know?"

"I'd rather hear it."

I told him about my past few days. For a few minutes there, I felt like we were both twelve again and at Yancy. He always used to listen to my problems, and give me advice. Lately, there hadn't been so much time for that, and to be honest, lately I was comforting him more that he was me. Not like I mind or anything, I was happy to return the favor. But sometimes I worried about him, he was so emotional lately.

When I finished my little rant, he nodded, and stared off into the distance. The look on his face was a little creepy.

"Hey," I interrupted suddenly, "Aren't you going to the dance with Juniper?"

He looked miserable. "I hope," he said. "We've been…arguing lately. I'm not sure if she's speaking to me."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

He smiled sadly. "Anyway," he said. "What makes you so sure Annabeth doesn't want you ask her?"

"What?"

"You heard me. I think she would be happy. I think you've noticed she's been down."

"Yeah. You can read emotions, what's wrong with her?"

He smiled the ghost of a smirk. "Not my place to say."

"Fine. But what if she turns me down? And I suck at dancing."

"That doesn't matter, the dancing I mean. What matters is that you asked."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Besides she has to like you, I mean, you kissed."

"How do you know?"

"It's pretty apparent in your emotions. You think about it every other minute."

I flushed.

"It's just…"

"You love her, don't you?"

My voice got very quiet. "Yeah." It was out.

"Well then…"

"Then?"

"But...I really hurt her last summer."

"I think you're forgiven."

It would be really convinient sometimes to be a satyr. He was silent, watching me.

"I have to do it, don't I?"

He nodded.

"Thanks, G-man. I needed that."

"You're welcome."

"Should I go now? Ask?"

"Yeah."

I started to leave, but then turned, and called back,

"Grover? Maybe you should follow your own advice."

He looked back at me, tears in his eyes. "I'll think about it."


	4. Chapter 4

REDO

Chapter 4

I jogged around camp, burning off energy. I didn't want to be a nervous wreak when I stopped at her doorstep. Pausing at my cabin only to change shirts, I slowly but surely made my way over to Cabin 6. I stopped at the doorstep, took a breath, and knocked. A few seconds passed. I was all set to go look elsewhere when Annabeth's voice came,

"Come in."

She was sprawled on her bed, engrossed in Daedalus's laptop. When she saw it was me, she sat up and smiled, although the smile was vacant.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," I responded, and plopped down next to her. "What are you working on?"

Apparently, she had taken on of Daedalus's designs, and was now remodeling it. She'd already won awards for Best Amateur Architect at various levels, the highest being state. We chatted about school and life and such for a few minutes. My heart sank. How was I going to ask? Finally, inspiration came.

"Annabeth?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant. "Would you help me with an experiment? I want to see if I can project my voice through bowls of water."

Just for an instant, her eyes sparked, and my heart soared. But it didn't last.

"Sure, whatever." Gaurded again.

We filled two bowls with water, and went to either end of the cabin. Just barely putting my lips in, I whispered

"Hello?"

Annabeth shook her head, ear dripping. No luck. I motioned back down.

I was sure I could do it. I imagined a small stream connecting the bowls, how Annabeth's face would light up when she heard why I had to say. Or, at least, I hoped. Either that, or she'd punch my lights out. Putting my mouth back in, I whispered,

"Hello? Testing, testing…" and a surge of power flowed out from me. I had to grab on to the table to keep from falling over, the exertion was so much. But I had done it.

"It worked, it worked!" she sang out. I managed a smile and called,

"One more time."

She made the okay sign, and went back under. I steeled myself. No turning back now. Putting my mouth in once more, I whispered,

"I talked to Silena this afternoon."

Ouch. Big mistake. A burst of pain exploded in my gut, and I fell to the floor.

"Percy? Percy! Are you okay?"

I couldn't answer. She helped my on to one of her siblings beds, and sat down next to me. Talking though disconnected water was hard. I'd need a lot of (potentially painful) practice. When the throbbing had settled to a distant ache, I sat up.

"What do you mean, you talked to Silena?"

I told her the story of how Silena had bested me, and she smiled at that.

"I asked her about what she was building."

Immediately, Annabeth was on guard. Again. Crap.

"She told me about the dance." It was hard to sound casual.

"Who have you asked?" Annabeth queried carefully.

"Um, no one yet. Has anyone asked you?"

She looked away, fists clenched. "Maybe." I felt like swearing, or punching someone.

"Who?"

"Why haven't you asked anyone yet?" I thought I could detect anger behind her voice.

"Well…I was hoping…Annabeth, would you go with me?"

Silence. She wouldn't look up.

"Hey, Hey. What's wrong?"

No responce.

"Annabeth. Annabeth, really."

She looked up, glaring a little. "What?"

"What's going on?"

Silence.

"Is this about last year?"

More silence.

"Listen, I--"

That got her.

"No, you listen. You don't need to make this harder. You and that..." She trailed off and started to sob.

I put my arm around her, and she buried her head in my shoulder, not making a sound. We must have stayed like that for ten minutes before she pulled away. I handed her a tissue.

"That what?"

"Oh...never mind."

"I..." I cut off, feeling frustated. Why was it so hard to speak sometimes? "Annabeth. Please, listen to me. I'm sorry. Really. I am so, so sorry about last year. I know it sucked; it was really hard on me too."

She looked up. "Hard? More than hard."

"Just...Annabeth, I'm so sorry. Please come to the dance with me. We don't have to stay, if you'd rather not. Just...please." There it was. My mini-speech hung in the air, threatening to crumble.

She looked at me for a quick second, then turned away again. Another tear slid down her cheek.

"Come on, Silena's _never_ going to stop bugging me about it."

She stared at me for a second, then laughed. I smiled back hopefully. The humor faded, ans she was abruptly crying again, although not as heavily now.

"I...I'm sorry too, Percy."

"What for?"

"For being such a jerk about all this. It's just," she gulped "now with Luke, and Lee died, and everything hurt. I shouldn't have avoided you like that.

"I miss Lee too." He and Annabeth had been very close. I wished I'd got to know him better.

"What if I want to stay?" she asked, and I felt like cheering. Grinning back I responded,

"Then we'll stay. Friends again?" I held out my hand.

"Friends," she agreed, and shook my hand.

"You never answered my question."

Her eyes met mine. "Ask again."

"Fine. Annabeth, would you go to the dance with me?"

She snuggled up to me, and gave me a kiss on my cheek. "Of course. Did you really need to ask?" I smiled, my first genuine smile in a long time.


	5. Chapter 5

Note: This chapter is a combined chapter of 5-6.

REDO

Chapter 5

I'm not usually the type of guy who worries about his appearance, but this had me baffled. What to wear, what to wear? And only an hour until the dance…just the thought of it made my heart pound wildly, as if my emotions weren't still jacked up from last nights conversation with Annabeth.

I was tearing up my cabin, looking for something, anything to wear. All the clothes I'd packed were spread out on my bed, and I stared at them with a racing pulse. Wait, not all. My favorite shirt was tucked away behind the nightstand. It was a sleeveless, a few shades darker than my eyes. Mom had gotten it for me, even thought I protested that she should get something for herself. I didn't have time to think, I just slipped it on along with a clean pair of shorts, combed my hair quickly, and dashed out the door.

When I saw Annabeth, my jaw fell.

She was absolutely, stunningly beautiful.

She wore her hair loose with a brown headband. No makeup (which I was glad of). On top she wore a simple, one piece bathing suit with a long white eyelet skirt. On her feet, sandals. She was wearing her camp necklace as always, but tonight she also had a delicate silver chain with and owl charm to match her earrings. But none of these were as amazing as her eyes tonight. The spark that I loved so much was back. She smiled as I jogged over.

"How do I look?" she said, and did a quick spin, making her skirt flare.

"Incredible. Stunning." I muttered, looking away and blushing like crazy. That was a major understatement. She shamed Aphrodite. In the evening light, she seemed to glow. She smiled uncertainly, blushing too.

"You don't look so bad yourself. I'm going to have to keep the naiads away from you."

I grinned in spite of myself, and she took my outstretched hand, lacing her fingers through mine. It was odd. I probably should have been at least a little embarrassed, but I had started it, and it filled me with a strange kind of euphoria. I couldn't think of a time when I'd been more content, just strolling towards the beach in the evening air, holding hands with Annabeth.

And boy does Silena know how to throw a party.

All the Half-Bloods were gathering on or around the platform, starting to sway to the music. The platform was decked out with swinging lanterns and colorful paper streamers. Some of the Apollo kids made up the band, playing magical instruments that changed every song. They played mostly old Greek stuff: Mediterranean, but every once in a while they threw in a modern song. Everyone was there, even Chiron. He stood off to the side, a smile on his face. The little kids were off doing their own thing on the beach, reveling in their newfound freedom from bedtime rules. I recognized two twins from Athena building an intricate sand castle with real (real!) arches. The little Apollos were singing campfire songs. I'm not sure what the Ares kids were doing, but it looked like wrestling, and of course, Aphrodite were braiding each other's hair or helping Silena with last-minute things.

I pulled Annabeth up the stairs, and we found a small vacant space on the dance floor. The song was a slow one, not requiring any formal dancing skills, which I was grateful for. I held out my hands in classic dance position, but she just she just rolled her eyes and wound her arms around my neck in a less formal position. I wasn't sure what to do, but she reached down and put my arms around her middle, just above her waist. Okay then.

It was nice, really. We talked and laughed while dancing, and Annabeth cracked up at my lame attempts to do the Soulja Boy dance. I have honestly never seen something so stupid. It was probably around Nine when a guy from Aphrodite interrupted to ask Annabeth for a dance. I wasn't thrilled, but I let him. She didn't seem to mind, either. We decided to meet aways down the beach in a few minutes, then parted.

There was something I wanted to do, anyway. Probably the only people I hadn't seen here were Grover and Juniper. I wanted to see where they were. Turned out that I didn't have to look too long, because I heard a sobbing sound behind me. Juniper was curled up beneath the platform, crying her eyes out.

"Juniper?"

"Percy?"

"What's wrong?" I sat down next to her as she started crying harder than ever.

"Grover…he hates me now."

"No way."

"Yes! He asked me to the dance, b-but…I was so angry. I turned him down, said some stuff. He must hate me."

"Where do you think he is now?"

"Up at Thalia's tree, that's his favorite spot. Why…?" It dawned on her. "Would you talk to him?"

"Of course."

"Now?"

"Yeah. If you see Annabeth, tell her I'll be back in a few, okay?"

She surprised me with a sudden hug.

"Thanks Percy."

"No problem."

I grabbed on of the lanterns on the platform and started to make my way towards the hill. When I got to the tree, Grover was hunched up under it, looking terrible.

"Yo, G-Man."

"Hi."

Briefly I shined the light in his face, and it looked like he'd been crying.

"I talked to Juniper," I said.

"Oh no," he moaned "does she hate me?"

"She thinks you hate her."

"Oh no, no…" he put his head down. "You don't know the half of it, Percy. We've been…arguing. It seems like forever although it's only been a few weeks."

"Harsh?"

He sniveled. "Uh…yeah. She can have a very volatile temper sometimes."

"A flammable tree?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, something like that."

"Did you ask her?"

"Mm-hmm. Just made her madder."

"I don't think she meant it."

He looked skeptical. "You've never been subject to one of her moods."

"Maybe if you just talked to her. She's not really that mad."

"Really?"

"Yeah really. She's just sad."

"What about you?" he challenged. "Have you talked to Annabeth?"

"You know I did."

"And...?"

"I'm not sure she's entirely over it, but we're okay with each other now. But she's still defending Luke, and that bugs me."

"Yeah, well, Luke was an awesome guy. And once you get Annabeth on to something, it's hard to get her off."

This didn't exactly calm me, but I decided now wasn't the time. "I know. But hey, if I can face Annabeth, you can face Juniper."

Grover, _come on_. I'll come with you."

He looked at me skeptically, then sighed. "Fine."

We hiked back down the hill. Juniper was waiting underneath the platform, but as soon as she saw Grover she leaped up and tackled him in a bear hug. Grover couldn't have looked more relived. They whispered for a few seconds, then ever so hesitantly Grover gave her a kiss. I turned pink and started to walk away when I heard,

"Percy?"

I turned.

"Thanks." Juniper said.

"You're welcome." I said, then jogged off to go find Annabeth.

****

Note: This section has several references to the awesome book series, PENDRAGON. I do not own PENDRAGON, and neither does Rick Riordan.

We had agreed to meet the rope swing. The rope swing is exactly what it sounds like: a rope swing down by the water. It's a fun way to spend an afternoon, swinging and splashing around, soaking people. Annabeth was leaning up against the trunk of the tree, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. I noticed she was only wearing her swimsuit now.

"Let's go for a swim," she said.

"You first."

She scrambled up the rope, got a few good swings, and dived off, entering the water almost perfectly vertical. An Olympic 10 all the way. Her blonde head surfaced.

"Your turn!" she sang out.

I have a different style. I just swung once, then cannon-balled for all I was worth, splashing Annabeth with a huge wave. I had expected it to be freezing, but it was only cool and surprisingly refreshing. I willed the currents to carry us out a bit, then make a kind of raft so she wouldn't have to tread. It was unexpectedly difficult, but not anything to sweat over. I realized I'd never tried to support two people before, only myself. I hadn't even thought about the water this time. Was I becoming too powerful? It worried me.

Annabeth laid back in the water and looked up at the stars. Her hair fanned out around her face.

"They're all out tonight. Remember when I used to teach you the constellations? And the Harpies found us that one morning?" We'd fallen asleep while watching the stars. There's nothing to get you awake in the morning like a Harpy hot on your heels.

"Yeah. That was a while back."

"Are you fifteen yet?"

"As of last week."

"What? Really? You never told me."

"Sorry."

"The sky is so dark. It looks like Nico spread out his cloak." Nico. Annabeth still didn't know.

"Annabeth, what would you do if Chiron asked you not to tell me a piece of vitally important information?"

"You've got something to tell me." We both sat up. Gulp.

"Yes. Don't tell Chiron." I explained to her Nico's crazy plan for stealing Luke/Kronos's scythe. I didn't like bringing up Luke, but it couldn't be helped. She didn't argue the point, but her jaw clenched. I hurried on with the story, not wanting to spoil the night. When I finished, she stared at me, opened mouthed.

"He's insane!"

"Maybe."

"It's too risky."

"Maybe."

"There's no way we could ever pull that off."

"Maybe."

"Stop that!"

"Fine."

She just looked at me for a second, probably debating on whether or not to punch me. She chuckled, and muttered,

"Seaweed Brain."

"Owl face." I retorted.

"Kraken."

"Spider."

"Eel."

"Gorgon."

"Hey, that was Poseidon's fault!"

"Whatever."

We just smirked at each other for a few seconds, then turned away, faces burning.

"Let's head back to shore," she said.

I soundlessly let the tide carry us back. When we washed ashore, I was perfectly dry, but she was sopping. I put my hand on her shoulder and concentrated hard. "Wha—" she started to say, but I pulled away, and she realized what I'd done. She was completely dry.

"Uh, thanks," she said, and stared at me for a long moment. I'd felt a thrill of triumph when I dried her, but now I just felt sad, and a tiny bit freaked out.

"You're getting scary good at that, y'know?" she said, echoing my thoughts.

"I guess."

She put her skirt back on, and we strolled down the beach.

"That was kind of another reason I avoided you last summer, Percy. To be honest, I was scared of the power you unleashed at Mt. Saint Helens, and a little scared of you too. I know it was stupid, but…I don't know. Doesn't matter." She ended looking frustrated.

"You're…"My head felt light, and not in a good way. "scared…of me?"

"No!" then "A little, sometimes."

I didn't believe her. "I—I'm a little scared too."

"You are?"

"How would you like to suddenly be so powerful? I mean, it's awesome that I can control the sea, and it feels…right somehow, but sometimes when I do it so effortlessly…it freaks me out. And now knowing that I scare people…"

"Oh no," she paled. "I didn't mean it like that. No one thinks like that.

"But…Annabeth, I would never do anything to hurt you. Or anyone else at camp."

"I know, it's not that. I just don't want you to hurt yourself."

I wasn't convinced, but figured it was best just to drop it. "I won't."

"Good." She looked up at the sky, then back at me, glaring. "And if you _dare_ tell anyone about this..."

"Don't worry."

We walked for a few more minutes. Finally, she said, "It must be nearly midnight by now. Let's head back."

We started back toward the cabins. Everyone else had the same idea, and pairs started to drift home. The air was thick with the kind of satisfying smothering happiness that only comes on a summer night. People were calling goodnight across the yard, or trying to catch the last few fireflies. We walked up to Cabin 6. I was going to say something, but she yanked me off to the side where we were hidden by the trees.

"I—I had a great time tonight," I stammered out, suddenly tongue-tied.

"Me too."

"Maybe…we could do it again sometime."

"I'd like that."

What I did next was surprising even to me, the definition of impulsive. I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. On the lips. I pulled away just in time to see her delighted look before she scowled playfully.

"Sea serpent."

"Barn owl."

She smirked mischievously. "Percy?"

"Mmm-hmm?" I hadn't recovered enough to form a complete sentence.

"You still haven't let go of my hand."

"Oh." I dropped her hand, blushing furiously.

"G'night Seaweed Brain,"

"G'night."

With a last wink, she was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

REDO

Chapter 7

I walked back to my cabin in a daze, trying futilely to absorb all that had happened. Sleep was no better. There weren't any nightmares –yet – (a fact I found ironic) but hectic images floated through my mind, making it impossible to close my eyes. When I finally fell asleep, my dreams were crazy. It wasn't very resting. I guess I shouldn't be complaining; at least they weren't insanely dangerous prophecies.

The next day was…odd. Emotions get skewed up at night, y'know? So neither Annabeth or I knew what was entirely real or not. Not to say that we were avoiding each other again, no. We laughed and talked all day. It was just always _there_ in the back of our minds like an annoying bug bite. It didn't help that the Aphrodite kids would wave and wink every time we passed. They did that to any boy and girl that walked past, but they seemed to think that we were soap opera stars or something. It wasn't a comforting thought.

Nothing really happened for the next few weeks. No news, no attacks, nada. I guess you could describe my mood as…tense. Sometimes it took all my willpower not to scream. Camp is the best, but how would you like to be cooped up when a force ten times more powerful the gods is trying to uproot Western Civilization, and these aforementioned gods are doing absolutely _nothing_! At least, that's what it seemed like. I should have appreciated those few weeks. Something way worse was brewing.

*********

At last, at long, long last a messenger came. A small elemental sprite, four feet tall and bright green like a caterpillar. We all stopped activities immediately and gathered in the amphitheater to hear him speak. For once, we didn't have to sit by cabin, so Annabeth and I grabbed Grover and one of Annabeth's older sisters named Beatrice or 'Trix'. We all sat together, chatting nervously. Now that the news had arrived…was it good? Once we were all quiet the sprite began in a high, clear voice,

"We, the Council of Olympus, say to you, our children: Greetings.

As you may or may not know, Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, has derived with his father a most excellent plan for stopping our scheming father Kronos, lord of the Titans. We assure you, that, in good faith, we did hear out Mr. di Angelo, and we thought solely of the safety of the World as well as Olympus. But we are shocked by the lengths we would have to go, and the damage it might cause, even assuming it succeeds! After ceaseless debating for over two weeks, we have, sadly, reached an impasse." Most of the campers groaned at this, myself included, and I thought I heard a few curses. "We could not decide whether the extreme risks involved would balance our need for action. However, due to a wise suggestion from Ares," More groans, and glares from the Ares cabin. "we now present you with a solution. This quest could only be carried out by a hero, or, more specifically, Mr. di Angelo and comrades. Since it is heroes who will be questing, it is heroes who will decide their own fate. The specifics of how you decide will be left up to you. If we do not hear from you within the next two weeks, the matter will be closed until the Winter Solstice.

All means of Godly communication, including, but not limited to, Iris Messages and Hermes Postal Service have been declared free of charge for the decision period. Use this privilege wisely! On the last note, we, the Olympian Council, would strongly recommend that the decision process cause as little damage as possible. We are not responsible for any illnesses, maimings, deaths, destructions, or accidents of any sort. We will be watching! May fate be with you.

Signed,

The Olympian Council

Mount Olympus

PostScript: The sprite that has delivered this message is fully insured by Apollo Medical Systems."

The sprite finished, cleared his throat, and marched out of the arena. It was so silent we could hear the wind blowing. We must have stayed like that, in shock, for a full minute. I noticed Annabeth had gone very white, and was gripping her sister's hand tightly. Then all Hades broke loose.

Everyone was yelling or screaming or talking at once. Some kids burst into tears. It was chaos. Outrage at the injustice delt to us was being hurled at one another with reckless abandon. Didn't the gods see that this would tear the camp apart? That it would be World War 3 right here on Long Island? I bet the only campers that were silent were the ones in our group. Grover and Trix just looked plain scared. Annabeth looked ready to pass out. I'm not sure what I looked like, but if insane rage became a person, he would look a whole lot like me right then, I'm sure. Trembling with anger, I wanted to march straight up to Olympus and…I don't know. I felt like howling in anger. I'm not really sure what happened after that, but the next thing I knew, everyone was staring at me, sopping wet. Oops.

"Don't just look at me!" I screamed, leaping to my feet. "I'm not the one who caused this, this…insanity! How are we supposed to decide the course of the Universe?!"

My rampage was cut short when Chiron entered the arena with, surprise, Nico. He gave me a stern look, then said,

"An excellent point Mr. Jackson. We, however, will not decide anything until we are well informed. Which is why I have brought Nico to try to help clarify any confusion."

Nico and Chiron did their best to explain what was going on, and how Nico's plan would deal with it. They did a great job, too, but everyone wanted to talk about the deciding part more.

"How are we going to decide?" someone yelled, accompanied by a chorus of "yeah!"s. Chiron answered,

"We should use the ancient Greek system of democracy. It is not so different from the American political system, except we will not have an Electoral College. Everything else will stay the same." Then, muttering under his breath, "Also excepting those windbag politicians." He continued, "I propose that our actions and time table will go as follows." He paused, and two satyrs wheeled in a whiteboard. Once a teacher, always a teacher.

"Today," he said, writing on the board, "is August 4. The deadline is August 20. We will vote twice: once by person for cabin, and once by cabin for decision." He turned around to face us. "That is, to say each cabin will take a vote to determine if the cabin is for or against. Then we will have the official cabin to reach our final say. Satyrs _are_ allowed to vote, but must form a temporary alliance with a cabin. There will be no: bribing, blackmailing, taking of hostages, enchantment, intentional death, ect. Challenges are allowed, as are moderate use of powers. Please behave civilly. All campers at camp will be allowed to vote, and myself. No one's vote will count for any more or less than the others. My proposed time table is as follows.

August 5-10: Cabin challenges, time to communicate with Olympian parents or otherwise

August 11: The first vote/primaries

August 12-16: Repeat Aug. 5-10

August 17: Official, final vote.

August 18-20: Send final results message up to Olympus."

He let that hang in the air for a few seconds.

"All in favor, raise hands."

All hands came up. It's not like anyone else had a better plan.

"Well then. Back to your normal activities!"

We silently got up and started to shuffle out of the amphitheater. I could hear some of the other half-bloods muttering curses under their breath. Annabeth still looked very white. I fell into step beside her.

"What's up?"

She turned to me, startled.

"Oh. Nothing, just thinking.

"Things are going to get pretty weird around here."

She nodded in mute anger.

"What do you think Athena will say?"

"Um...I don't know." She was hiding something; she did know, but I decided not to press.

"What will Poseidon do?" she asked.

"I'll have to talk to Dad."

Silence. I thought she had slipped back into her own world again, but she said,

"Percy?"

"Yeah."

"You know you're my best friend, right?"

"Um, yeah," I said, taken by surprise, although I meant it. "Same here, why?"

"Oh..." her face was burning. "Never mind. Later." And she scampered off.


	7. Chapter 7

REDO

Chapter 7

Everybody slunk off to their cabins, muttering. Chiron tried to get us back to our activities, but to no avail. Eventually, we were left alone. Thank the gods.

As much as I wanted to know Dad's opinion on this whole mess, I waited. I thought it poor security to announce our plans to everyone. As much as I hate to think this, some of the half-bloods here were on the side of Kronos. Simply put: spies. Kronos probably already knew our plans. But one bit of information I wouldn't let them have was how I was voting. I knew that as the most powerful half-blood at camp (besides Nico), my vote would have a major impact. It would probably be the single most important vote in camp. Even if Thalia were here, as a child of Zeus she would not be voting. It wouldn't be fair. But then again, was it really fair for any child of a Big Three to vote? Would we be too powerful? And I'm not bragging about this, either. The thought actually made me sick to my stomach. But I knew my every move for the next few weeks would be scrutinized. After all, you don't mess with the Big Three. It made me absolutely nauseous.

With maybe an hour until dinner, I jogged around camp to see what others were doing. It was actually, strangely, quiet. Most campers were in their cabins. You could hear indistinct voices as gods and half-bloods argued. The few that were outside were silent, thinking hard. The only noises were an occasional rumble of thunder or a lightning strike as gods warned their kids. I'd heard enough. I turned back to my cabin with a sigh. It was going to be a long few days.

Dinner was, again, very quiet. The only talk was whispered in low, intense voices. The satyrs ate on their own tonight, murmuring, making alliances. I considered standing and yelling or something. Just to break the unbearable tense silence. I tried talking to Annabeth afterwards, but her family practically dragged her off. I was just about to head back, when a faint glow caught my eye. I turned, and sure enough, a tile on the floor was _glowing_. I looked around cautiously to see if anyone else saw it, but apparently they were oblivious. Stepping up to it, I saw that there was a small trident etched in the center. So this was for me. I hesitantly put my foot on it, but the glow and trident jumped to another tile a few feet off. When I touched it again, same thing. Could this be a summons from Dad? I followed it willingly, but my hand hovered over my pocket and Riptide, just in case.

It "lead" me into the Big House, just like Rachel's floor-brightness thing in the Labyrinth. The trident glowed brighter in the darkness of the basement, which was where it appeared when I stamped on it in frustration. Further in, it lead me down a few small corridors, and into a room with a plastic chair and a window. On the floor was a strange-looking device that looked like a mini volcano. The glow jumped on to it. When I touched it, it whirred for a few seconds, then shot out a fine mist. The mist caught the sunlight from the window, and made a perfect rainbow. A pleasant female voice announced, "No charge." Oh. It was an IMing fountain. I quickly scanned the room, then announced,

"Poseidon, Lord of the Seas."

The mist shot out with more intensity now. It swirled into a shape that looked vaguely like a trident, then smoothed and the image appeared. My Dad was seated on his fisherman's throne in his palace. At least, that's where I assumed it was. The wall behind him seemed to be made of glass and it was covered in coral of every shade. The Nerids were everywhere, all unspeakably beautiful. The court consisted of mermaids/mermen, sea horses, seals, and every other sea-creature. Immediately, I felt a sharp pang, as if I missed a home I'd never known. But this wasn't the time. Even thought this was only an IM, I knelt and called out,

"Hello Father."

All eyes were on me. Poseidon turned to me and said,

"Close your eyes, my son."

I obeyed. The room seemed to turn around me, and when I opened my eyes, I was actually kneeling in front of my father, in his court under the sea. Upon seeing my apparently baffled expression, Dad laughed.

"I told you, what belongs to the sea will return to the sea," he said. And I couldn't help but smile.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Dad," I said. "You sent for me."

He smiled again. "A most interesting mode of summons." Then his expression turned grave. "But we have much to discuss, and little time. Come with me, Percy." He stood, and shrank to a normal size before leading me to a small room. He led me into a conference room by the looks of it. A table was in the center of the room, looking like it had been carved out of coral. Strange glowing lanterns made up the lighting, and everything was sea related. No duh. The chairs surrounding the table were weaved out of seaweed. There were maps and battlefield placement strategies all over the walls. The walls were by far the strangest thing in there: it seemed like we were in an air bubble under the sea. When my Dad and I walked in, a small school of fish swam up and arranged themselves in a pattern. It took me a second to figure out, but they were spelling out a message in Ancient Greek with a trident above it. It read, "All hail the God of the Sea and his brave son Perseus! All hail our lords!" I smiled at them a little shyly. Dad just chuckled, and said,

"See Percy? You're famous. And I promise you'll get time to ask your million questions later. We have work to do."

Seeing my shocked look at having my thoughts read _exactly _he laughed again.

"If you can hear the thoughts of the sea creatures, why is it so shocking that I can hear your's?"

I had to agree with him on that one, thought it felt odd. We sat at the conference table, and he abruptly became serious.

"Now, we have much to discus, yes?"

"Uh, yeah. But how could you gods force such a decision on us? You're _The Gods_. It's your job to make the decisions. Besides, I know you have other things to worry about, but it's not fair to us! No, it's downright cruel. It will and is tearing the camp apart!"

Poseidon frowned. "I did not vote in favor of the plan, but there is no way to go against it now, short of outright mutiny against Zeus. That might not neccicarily be bad, but as the god of seafarers, mutiny is not tolerated."

"I get that. Fine. We'll 'go with the flow.' But how? And what should I say? The whole camp is watching every move I make, trying to figure out which side we're on. As of right now, Nico and Thalia won't be voting for obvious reasons, so that leaves me as the most powerful half-blood alive in this vote."

"I have noticed."

"Well?"

"This is a delicate matter, Percy; not one to be taken lightly. Allies will play a huge part in this: we will need as many as we can get."

"I am not taking this lightly!" Breathe, I told myself. You aren't getting anywhere.

"I have noticed."

"Well?"

"This is a delicate matter, Percy; not one to be taken lightly. Allies will play a big part in this, and we will need as many as we can get."

"I am not taking this lightly!" Breathe, I said to myself. No use in making him angry. After taking a breath, I responded,

"Who are our allies?"

"That, I believe is being decided right now."

"Yeah. But still, what do you think of all this?"

Poseidon sighed. "My brother, Zeus, is definitely, as you called him once, paranoid. Even though his daughter will not be voting, he will use his power to push everyone to his side, being that the quest be postponed, if not cancelled. Ever since Rome fell, he always thinks that somehow the heroes will mess things up, that it's better to leave well enough alone. He realizes full well the danger we are in, but he foolishly chooses to ignore it." He looked at me, calculating.

"What do you think?"

I was surprised that he asked my opinion. I mean, I know he's my dad, but he's also a very temperamental god used to getting his own way. It was nice, though.

"I think that's crap," I said bluntly. "Zeus_ is_ paranoid. Either we do something now, or Western Civilization as we know it is down the garbage shoot." This seemed to please Dad, even though he looked a bit ruffled.

"Yes, I agree," he said. "As you put it, 'crap.'"

If I had been anywhere else, this might have been funny: an ancient Greek god trying to figure out how to use the word 'crap,' but more important stuff was on my mind right now.

"So, what should I do?" I asked.

He paused before answering. "Nothing, for the moment. Watch and wait: see what others are doing. I'll contact you when it's time."

"For what?"

"For us to make our move. Until then, Percy."

The room started to swirl around me like before, and when I looked around me, I was back in the Big House, kneeling in front of a water fountain. Getting stiffly to my feet, I stumbled out of the Big House back towards Cabin 3. When I got back, I just flopped on the bed and sighed. Why are the gods doing this? What's going to happen? When? How?

At some point I must have dropped off, because I had my first nightmare since coming to camp, and it wasn't pretty.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I was in an amphitheater, being watched by the crowd. There was a red flag and a blue flag in the center of the ring. The crowd cheered as lightning flashed overhead. Next to me were the leaders of each cabin decked out in full Greek armor with complete symbols of parentage. In sync, we drew our swords and lined up. Somehow I knew we were supposed to choose between the red flag and the blue flag. An announcer called the cabins, and each half-blood chose. It looked even.

The last two were Annabeth and me. She stepped up, gave me an anguished glance, and chose the red flag. The announcer called me next, but as usual, I couldn't move. Each side called to me, trying to make me choose. I noticed Annabeth looking miserable, and I wanted to comfort her, but I was frozen in place.

Suddenly, the oracle appeared, except she was _alive_. She tottered towards me, daintily holding up her dress. When she reached me, she screeched out a laugh, and the usual smoke poured out of her mouth but this time it was gold. The smoke wound around my throat, strangling me. The last thing I heard was the grinding chuckle of Kronos.

_**THUD!**_

Thank the gods; I'd slipped off the bunk. Somehow I had the uncanny feeling that the smoke really had been strangling me.

Looking at the clock, I saw it was almost midnight. I guessed I'd better at least try to go back to bed, when something out the window caught my eye. It was smoke coming from the woods. Checking my pocket for Riptide, I snuck out of the cabin. I would have to be extra careful: it was way past curfew, and those harpies are vicious.

After following the smoke trail for a few minutes, I came to a clearing. There was a bonfire with 20, 25 half-bloods around it. They were all in ½ armor, speaking in Ancient Greek, which I found odd. I noticed that each one wore a golden armband, and a black mask. I stole closer and climbed a tree directly above the clearing. It was the perfect hiding place: right on top of them, but impossible for them to see me. Turns out I wasn't the only one who thought so. When I started to inch along the branch, my head bumped into something. An invisible hand clamped over my mouth, and wrestled me into a safe sitting position. Wait, I'd been here before. Sure enough, when the person pulled off her cap, it was Annabeth.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered.

I shrugged. "Same as you, I guess. Spying. What's going on down there?"

"Listen."

There wasn't much to hear, it was just a big babble of Ancient Greek. I tried to pick out individual conversations, but it was hard. I've been getting better at Greek, but I still couldn't pick out anything. I turned to Annabeth.

"Can you get any of it?"

She frowned, concentrating. "Some. The dialect they're using is strange."

"What are they saying?"

She gave me a nervous glance before taking a breath and saying, "I can't get all of it, but they seem to be saying over and over, 'Kronos'"

"Do you think these are...Luke's spies?"

She nodded, and then pointed at a half-blood that was standing up. He also wore an armband and a mask that reminded me of _Phantom of the Opera_. Neither of us recognized him. As he started to speak, I was surprised to find that I could mostly understand him.

"Fellow commerades, our time is near. Soon we will not have to hide our allegiance or speak in whispers. Soon the glory of Kronos shall be revealed!" The crowd cheered softly. "Soon we will rise with our brothers and sisters in triumph! Soon, soon, my friends. But not now. For now, we must stick to the shadows. Disguise yourselves. Be petty, weak campers who serve petty, weak gods! Take heart, friends. This will not continue forever. I have received orders from General Nakamura." Nakamura! Annabeth and I looked at each other, then back to the speaker, who pulled out a manila envelope, and ripped it open. Taking out the paper inside, he said,

"Our instructions are as follows: We must not try to influence the vote. See what paths your cabin takes. Report back per usual. But do not have a voice yourself! The weaklings must bring about their own doom! So listen, watch, and wait for further direction." He folded the sheet, and put it back in his envelope. "Goodnight, fellow soldiers. Sleep well. To Kronos!" He saluted.

"To Kronos!" the crowd echoed, and returned the salute. Within the minute, the clearing was empty.

Silently, Annabeth and I scrambled down from the tree. A minute passed. Two minutes. Finally, she broke the silence.

"Was that real?"

"I think."

"It makes you wonder who's a spy."

I shot her a look, but she was deadly serious.

"Right."

We walked back towards the cabins, lost in thought. The sky was black as the depths of Hades, the stars looking piercingly bright. Annabeth checked her watch, and groaned.

"It's one in the morning. I have to get back. We'll, uh...talk tomorrow."

I nodded, and she trudged off to Cabin 6. I got back to my cabin, but I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night.

***

"Well, that sucked," Annabeth said. We were coming out of the Big House after a meeting with Chiron. We told him about last night, but he said that we could not do anything for the time being.

"I know," I said. "But what did you expect? We can't just expose them, without risking the lives of everyone at camp."

"It's just..." she pounded her fist in her hand. "Ugh! It makes me feel so helpless!"

"What do you think I feel like?" For once, it was my turn to be the reasonable one.

Her expression softened. "I know, Percy. Sorry."

"Whatever. We have a game to plan."

Even with the current events, it was Friday, and Capture the Flag would not be canceled. Poseidon, Athena, Hephaestus, Hades (just Nico), and Apollo were the Blue team, along with Grover and some other satyrs. Hermes, Demeter, Aphrodite, Ares, and Dionysus made up the Red team. It was going to be a tough match. They had the numbers, but we had some of the best fighters, except Ares. The Athena cabin (of course) had our strategy planned out. We were going to send an attack party of Apollos out to round up some of the kids like Aphrodite and such to keep them occupied. Poseidon, Athena, and Hades would be nabbing the flag, while Hephaestus would be defense. It was a classic strategy, but one that almost always worked. We were ready to win.

Dinner came and went, and everyone suited up. I had Riptide at my side, ¾ combat armor, and my watch/shield on my arm. Tyson had fixed it again, and it looked good as new. As team captains, Annabeth, Nico, and I lead the way. Nico was silent, which isn't uncommon for him now.

When we got to Zeus's Fist, formerly and entrance to the Labyrinth, we split up. Nico was in charge of defense, Annabeth lead the archers and satyrs, and I was with the sneak attack group. My section and I tramped softly through the woods, creeping up behind the flag. A few more feet and...there were the guards. Oh crap. A brother and sister, twins, were on guard. They were some of the newest editions to camp, 13 years old, recently claimed by Ares. I hadn't fought them yet, but everyone said they we some of the best swordspeople here. They were big, mean, ugly looking kids. Typical Ares. The two looked almost identical, except the girl wore an eyepatch. I crept back to my group. I appointed Corin (Annabeth's 12-year-old brother) in charge, and told the group to go fan out around the clearing to make sure we wouldn't have any outside trouble: I would take care of the twins. My plan was already forming.

The girl's eyepatch was on her right eye. I decided to try and take her out first. Inching towards them on the right, I noiselessly gathered a little water from the creek into a tiny tornado behind me. An annoyed-looking naiad peeked over the side of the creek bed, but she smiled when she saw what I was going to do, and slipped back underwater. I pulled out a small glob of water, and fired it at the girl. Sure enough, it hit her smack in the face.

"Hey!" she spluttered. "Was that you, Mike?"

"No, you dope. Don't go blaming me for everything."

"Oh you little..." I fired another one at her brother, apparently Mike.

"Oww!" howled Mike "I'm going to get you for that, Sam!"

The two wound up to start a fistfight. I tugged out a ribbon of water, and made it float over to them. They stopped, and their mouths hung open.

"Are you seein' what I'm seein'?" asked Sam.

"I'm seein' it," Mike replied.

"What is it?"

"I dunno."

I lead them back a bit. Just a few more steps, and...wham! Whoa, they are fast. For every attack I got in, they got in three more! Each! I'd never seen anything like it, except Luke. Their skill was unparalleled. After about thirty seconds, they got through my furious attempts to fend them off, and disarmed me, making me look like a two-year old. Tying my wrists together, they shoved me all the way to their jail. I was feeling pretty embarrassed, until I saw the jailer. She was a skinny girl, about 14 or 15, not from camp. Long, dark hair, pleasant featured. When she moved, she was kind of slinky like a cat. But what stood out to me the most were her eyes. They were dark blue, and extremely vicious. When she turned those eyes on you, the glowed with a cold, angry fire. I knew immediately she was someone to be wary of, not to be trusted. When she saw me and my captors, she smiled a malicious smile, and said,

"Oh good, Percy Jackson. We've been waiting."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Up until this point, although embarrassed, I wasn't concerned. Usually when the game ended, prisoners were let free. Not a problem. But the look in my fellow inmates eyes was one of…fear. What did they have to be scared of? As I was shoved in, I shouted,

"Hey! Wait! What's your name?"

The girl smiled nastily. "Jenny."

"What are you doing here? You're not a camper. Who's cabin are you?"

Her smile turned to a sneer. "No, I am not a paltry camper. My mother is Hecate, goddess of magic. But both my mother and I honor Lord Kronos, long may he reign." She rolled up her sleeve to expose a golden armband. Briefly, I wondered why she admitted that so freely, but as the truth dawned on me, I realized I had more important things to worry about.

"We aren't prisoners," I said with a sinking heart. "You're kidnapping us."

Her eyes glittered. "Absolutely. We leave after curfew. You may want to note," She said, addressing all of us now, "that around this clearing is a barrier making us invisible to outsiders, and highly electrically charged. If you so much as touched it…well, let's say the results won't be pleasant." And with that, she turned and started to walk away.

"Wait!" I yelled after her, and she looked over her shoulder.

"Did you capture a girl, about my age, shoulder-length blond hair, grey eyes?"

"No."

I sighed in relief, then turned my attention to how exactly we were going to get out of here.

I quickly realized that not having Annabeth here might be a bad thing. I mean, if we were getting kidnapped, I wanted her to be as far away as possible, but she's usually the one that makes up the brilliant-yet-insane plans that save our lives. They had captured Nico, however. He scooted closer to me, and shuddered slightly. Other than us, it was a diverse group. About 20 in all, there were a few Ares, a few Apollos, and the rest were undetermined Hermes. Why would Kronos want them? They are usually weak forces, so their parents don't bother to claim them. It was sad, but true. Most of the undetermined looked…normal. No distinctly Olympian features. They were probably just minor gods or goddesses. But over in the corner…I shifted to see better. There was a small boy, maybe 9. He had honey-blonde hair, and piercing gray eyes that resembled Annabeth's remarkably in a cute little-boy face. Nico and I looked at each other, then back at the boy. Could he be? I cautiously scooted over to where the boy was curled up, and Nico followed.

"Hey," I whispered to the boy. He looked up, startled.

"What's your name?"

"Kevin."

"What cabin are you?"

His eyes flashed angrily. "Why should I tell you? Who are you? Are you a spy?"

Whoever this kid was, he was well informed. I shouldn't have been surprised, if his mom was Athena. I've heard that a 10 year old I that family has the IQ of at least someone who is 15.

"No, I am definitely _not_ one of Kronos's spies. Look, do you have a sister named Annabeth?"

His lower lip quivered. "Yes. Is she all right?"

"I hope. Look, I'm…Annabeth's best friend, okay? Percy Jackson. Son of Poseidon. You can trust me."

He looked at me strangely for a second, then grinned. "Oh! Percy! Yes, I know. Annabeth said you had green eyes. They really do glow…anyway, I am glad you're here. Do you have any ideas to get us out? I'm stumped."

Actually, an idea had started, but I needed him on my side.

"Yeah, I do. But I need your help."

"My help? Absolutely," he smiled brilliantly, thrilled to be part of the plan.

"Yeah. Do you know Annabeth's favorite song? Maybe loud?"

"Favorite song?" he looked at me as though I was nutty. I leaned down and whispered my idea in his ear. He almost cracked up.

"That's insane, but it might work. Okay, one of her favorite songs is Bad Day by Daniel Powter. You know it?"

Luckily, I did. In a whisper-shout, I called out,

"Hey everyone. Gather up, I have a plan to get us out of here…"

***

_Annabeth_

I didn't remember coming home. They said that John carried me, much to my embarrassment.

Last night, when the red team won, Chiron had blown the conch horn as he always does to signal the end of the game. When two hours later most of the blue team didn't show up, Percy and Nico especially, Chiron feared the worst. We all suited up again, and went out in small search parties. We combed every inch of that forest, and there was nothing to be found. At one point we stopped to rest (at about 4:00 in the morning) and I must have fallen asleep. Poor John.

This morning, Grover was banging on my door like crazy, shouting that his empathy link had activated. We rushed to the Big House, and he calmed down a little. He said that while he slept, his and Percy's empathy link had been triggered. Percy was afraid to tell Grover too much because he thought they were being watched, but he said I should lead a group of 20 half-bloods into the woods at about 9 A.M., and to listen for my favorite song. Favorite song? Did Grover have too much caffeine? Chiron looked skeptical, but after some prodding from Grover and me, he gave in. Afterwards, I dragged Grover out, and back to my cabin.

"What?" he asked a little snappily, rubbing his arm where I had dragged him. I didn't care.

"What _exactly_ did Percy say?" I demanded.

"Uh…" his cheeks turned a pale pink.

"Grover! Just tell me!"

"Um, the first thing he asked was whether you and I were safe. I said yeah, and asked what was wrong. He didn't want to go into detail, because he thought someone was listening."

"Listening? No, never mind. Are they all right? Safe? What about my brother, Kevin? Or Nico?"

"It sounds like they're okay for now. Kevin is fine, so's Nico."

"Thank the Gods," I muttered under my breath, then insisted, "What else?"

"Um, he said he had a plan, the thing with the song."

"Did he say which one?"

"No."

"Anything else?"

"He said if you didn't want to do it, it's okay."

I snorted. "Stupid idiot." I realized it was a lame insult, and redundant to boot, but I too high strung to care. "Was that all?"

"Yeah."

I paced for a few seconds, then turned to Grover.

"Who do you think I should bring?"

"Well, me of course, and maybe some Apollos. No Ares, though."

Okay, no Ares. Definitely my family; Trix had stayed up all night worrying about Kevin. I spun back to Grover.

"Get ready, we leave in an hour."

Sword drawn, I led my phalanx into the woods. We tramped around for over an hour. No luck. We asked the dryads we came across for information, but they hadn't seen anything. I was just 10 minutes to 9, when someone in the back heard a few bars of music. Deadly quiet, we listened, and off in the distance, one by one, we heard the cacophony of campers yelling out indeed one of my favorite songs, Bad Day.

_Percy_

Gesturing behind my back to up the volume, I discreetly glanced around. Still no rescue party. Come on, Annabeth, come on…

_Annabeth_

Five minutes to 9. The musical Apollo kids were up in front, tracking the prisoners and cringing as the dissonance hit their ears. Hang on, Percy, Kevin, Nico. We're coming.

_Percy_

Jenny was getting impatient. Let's go, guys. Some of the younger children kept staring towards the woods. They didn't see anything, but Kevin tugged on my sleeve, and tilted his head ever so slightly at a large bush. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch the briefest glimpse of a flash of blonde hair. She's here!

_Annabeth_

Peeking out of the bush for just the briefest of seconds, I saw Kevin tightly holding Percy's hand, and they both belted it out with the others. I have to admit, now that I see the plan in action, it really does work (except for the fact that Percy is a terrible singer). Trust Seaweed Brain to come up with something like this. I gave the signal, and the archers closed in. Good.

_Percy_

I saw the minute disruptions in the woods as Annabeth's attack force closed in. A few more notes, and…I got out Riptide, but didn't unsheathe it. Not yet. Surprise was everything. A few more seconds, and Showtime! Arrows hissed thought the air from every direction, and our jailers turned tail and fled. Jenny hissed and wriggled until she had transformed into a snake that slithered away before we could capture her. I hoped her punishment hurt.

Annabeth jogged out from behind a bush, bow in hand. Her little brother ran up to her, and tackled her in a hug, which she was more than happy to receive. Then she stood up, and pulled me in to a quick hug too.

"That was incredible," I said. "Attack of the Summer award."

She smiled. "Yeah, but you're forgetting who actually came up with the plan. That was a touch of genius, Seaweed Brain."

I shrugged "Thanks." We started walking back towards camp.

"Something back there bugged me," I said. "Did you notice how the Kronos kids gave up so easily? That's not normal."

She frowned. "The only thing that I can think of is that it was a decoy? They captured you to get our attention?"

"Maybe they wanted to stall the vote."

"But what about Ethan's instructions?"

"Gods, Percy, I don't know everything. We'll have to find out more."

"Has Athena made a decision yet?"

"Yes."

"And…?"

"That's classified information. What about you?"

"Secret."

"I'll trade." She smiled, only half-kidding, which caught my attention. Was there something she was trying to tell me? I looked in to her eyes, but they were only a friendly, slightly high-strung grey today. No storm clouds, nothing that said she was upset. I dismissed my wonderings as being dumb.

"Nope, sorry."

This time the smile was for real. "Fine. But I'll find out…cue spooky music."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I am so, so sorry.

After reading my wonderful reviewers thoughts, Broken Gold (thank you!) brought to my attention that I had somehow skipped the Aphrodite cabin. I am now adding it in, and hopefully it will make the story better. Thank you reviewers!

-cc19

Chapter 11

After being thoroughly questioned by Chiron, camp life continued as normal. Or almost. The vote was still very much there, and it made its presence known. By two days before, the odds had shaped, and believe me: there were big bets going around. The night before the primaries, I had another dream.

I was underwater, at a coral reef that reminded me of the ones in Australia. There were mermaids chatting with the fish, and hippocampi _everywhere_. I observed the scene from a high perch, maybe a cliff. It felt strange, because I couldn't hear what they were thinking. I briefly wondered if this is what being deaf was like. A horn sounded behind me, and suddenly all the sea creatures were watching. They all looked expectant, and I panicked, wondering what they wanted me to do. This only lasted a second, because a Nereid swam up. She regarded me coolly with her green eyes, then bowed gracefully, and held out an envelope. It felt like the envelope Dad sent me two summers ago: full of power, as if the waves had suddenly stilled into paper. I took it and started to open it when the ground started to shake. The sea creatures swam around wildly, trying to find the source of the earthquake. Sand was everywhere. I scanned the ocean floor, and it hit me: the sea floor was glowing with a golden light.

When I woke up, I was gasping for air. After a minute, I realized that the envelope in my dream was lying right next to me on the bunk. Not taking the time to question, I opened it. Inside, there was a single sheet of royal blue paper. No writing, just paper. It didn't make sense, but I guess I've gotten used to my Dad's weird correspondences enough to know that they usually made sense later. I was all set to fall back asleep, when it hit me. In my earlier dream, there had been two colors we had to choose from: scarlet and blue. The blue was the exact shade of this paper. Was that Dad's choice? Did he want me one the blue team? As I was thinking, an invisible hand wrote on the paper a single word: Yes. It was Poseidon's handwriting.

"Thanks, Dad," I whispered, and the paper and envelope dissolved into mist.

The next morning, I was raring to go. With only five minutes until the vote, I stood waiting in the shadows. All the cabin leaders were here, but nobody talked, off in their own worlds. We had all been handed two feathers with our parent's name on them: a red one and a blue one. They hadn't explained.

A conch horn sounded, and Chiron herded us out into the ring. The half-bloods cheered. I looked for Nico, but he wasn't there. Once the crowd quieted, Chiron explained the rules. They had set up a blue pole and a red pole in the middle of the arena. We were to present ourselves, then make our choice. Everyone buzzed excitedly. Mr. D was handed the mic, and proceeded to call the names.

Hermes went first. I wasn't really sure what they meant by "present ourselves," but apparently, it was a show of power. Travis and Connor proceeded to pickpocket each other in record time, then put their "earnings" in a UPS box, and shipped it off. Drawing their caduceus-handled swords (minus the talking snakes), they held up the blue feather, and placed it before the blue pole. The crowd clapped.

Next was Apollo. Corydon (who everybody just called Cory), the new leader of Apollo, brought out a lyre shining so brightly that we had to squint, and played a Green Day song that reminded me of Thalia. He chose blue. More clapping.

Demeter. Diantha bowed to the earth, then flung open her arms. Within seconds, the entire arena was covered in grains and flowers, literally up to our knees. She clapped her hands, and it disappeared as quickly as it had come. She went blue. Clap-clap.

Hephaestus. Beckendorf came out with an armload of junk and a portable furnace. As fast as you can blink, he had made a small mechanical army of mechanical frogs, and a cloud of mechanical flies. The frogs snapped up the flies, and saluted us with tiny flaming swords. Beckendorf chose red, which didn't surprise me that much. I think he wanted a quest, but his dad probably didn't. Clapping, and a whoop from one of his brothers.

Dionysus. Pollux came out, snapped his fingers, and a mini vineyard sprang up. He squeezed the juice of a few grapes into a cup, and offered it to Chiron to taste, while Mr. D looked on wistfully. It was pronounced as the purest Retsina, the wine of Ancient Athens. He chose blue, which did surprise me. I thought Mr. D would be opposed to the quest, because if we did go, Dionysus might actually have to get off his lazy butt and help.

Aphrodite. Silena came out with one of her sisters, a chair, and a small handbag. From the handbag, she took out a tiny brush, and began to swipe it gently over her sister's face. A few seconds later, her sister stood up with perfect makeup, and outfit to match. Next, a brother of hers and the sister acted out a pantomime of two people falling in love. The clapping sounded a little awkward, but they were _really_ good actors. They chose red.

Ares. Clarisse brought one of her brothers into the ring with her, and they sword fought. It was actually pretty scary. These two were ruthless masters, and the war cries they screamed chilled me. After a few minutes, Clarisse got in the advantage, and won with her sword pressed against her brother's neck. They stepped away from each other, bowed to the nervously cheering crowd, and chose red. That was a shocker. You'd think Ares would approve of an almost-war.

Athena. With Annabeth in the lead, an owl perched on her shoulder, three other Athenas came out bearing a small replica of the Parthenon. It was perfect; every detail had been given the utmost attention, and I would bet 50 drachma it was faultlessly to scale. The crowd oohed and aahed. Her consort went back and brought out a loom, a basket of wool skeins, and a stool. Annabeth sat down, and began to weave, fingers flying. It also sounded like she was singing something, but I couldn't tell. As boring at watching someone weave might sound, it actually wasn't. Maybe it was the song, or something about the way her hands moved, but I sat entranced, absorbing her every move. A quick scan of the audience showed that they were just as attentive. After about 5 minutes, she stood up and presented her tapestry. It was a perfect battle plan. The enemy wouldn't have stood a chance. And the weaving its self was beautiful, with intricate borders, and vibrant colors. On closer examination, I was surprised to see that the small river she wove on the right looked like it was actually flowing. I blinked, but I was right: there was a real tiny river on the tapestry. Suddenly I noticed everything on the tapestry moved. Wind blew throught the forests, and the miniature soldiers charged into battle. I was stunned. I never knew Annabeth could do that. While the crowd cheered, she appeared to be looking for someone. When she saw me, she stared at me hard, like she was trying to tell me something. The expression on her face was surprisingly sad. She turned away, and slowly put down the red feather.

And then it was my turn, and I didn't know what to do. Thinking furiously, I reached inside myself, and after a small earth tremor, and spring of salt water erupted in front of me. I pulled some of the water out, and by directing with my hands, I got it to spell out "CAMP HALF-BLOOD" before it exploded into fireworks. When I looked up, there was confusion in the stands. Some people were just staring at me in shock, but most were whispering animatedly with each other. I listened closer, and I heard the word "Earthshaker" whispered over and over. I hadn't thought about it at the time, but when I made the spring, hadn't it been accompanied by a small earthquake? Could I do that? Shutting off the fountain, I tried to make another earthquake, and came up empty.

"Well?" squawked Mr. D from the mic. "Make your choice. I haven't got all day."

It was 4-4. I would be the deciding vote. Annabeth wouldn't look at me. Everyone else stared. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to let my dad down, but I knew that if I chose blue, it would be Poseidon vs. Athena all over again. But then I remembered what Annabeth had said after the sprite messenger left: _You know you're my best friend, right?_ Somehow, this would work out. And so, with a heavy heart, I chose blue.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The next morning when I woke up, there was _another _letter slipped under my door. It was shimmery grey, with no design or markings.  
"Looks like I'm popular," I muttered as I ripped it open. It was a gray piece of parchment paper, with a small holographic owl on top. My heart sank as I read it. It was an official cabin challenge, and by tradition, the leaders of both cabins would fight. That meant me and Annabeth. It was in two days time, just before the final vote. The terms were clear: upon defeat, unconditional surrender to the victor cabin. Seconds were expected and allowed. You might find it strange that a Greek camp would borrow something from Italian fencing, but actually, the Greeks used seconds too. Reaching the end of the letter, I cursed.  
This couldn't be her idea, could it? She wouldn't do that. I mean, Athena and Poseidon challenged each other all the time, but it was for stuff like shower hours and free time in the sword arena, but never for anything serious. And Annabeth and I had sparred a million times, but sparring is nothing like real fighting, especially cabin challenges. In official cabin challenges, the fight was real. It went until someone surrendered. You didn't have to kill the other person, but you might have to hurt them to make them give up. And I'm not talking about getting sent to the infirmary hurt, I mean losing limbs hurt. Of course, for shower hours, the fight only went until you cornered the person, and maiming and killing was strictly against the rules. But this…an official cabin challenge, this was serious. And if I declined the challenge, I would disgrace Dad for the next millennia and be kicked out of camp. What was Cabin 6 planning? Being the children of Athena, they had to have a strategy underneath this. Were they trying to make me decide between Annabeth and my Dad? It was a plan worthy of their mother, and totally unfair. Slamming the letter down in frustration, I stormed out of the cabin and down to the beach. I saw Annabeth swimming, but I just didn't feel like talking to her. Instead, when I got to my favorite spot, there was already someone there. Without turning, he called out,  
"Hey, Percy." It was Nico. I jogged over and sat next to him.  
"Um, hey," I started, "I haven't seen you around much."  
"I've been in and out."  
"Have you been training?"  
"Not here."  
"What do you think of the vote?"  
"It's a waste. Nobody's fighting fair, and we don't need any _more_ squabbles right now." He said this almost bitterly, but I decided not to question him. It made me sad to think that Nico was only 11, but he'd seen so much of life, he seemed aged inside.  
"Agreed."  
We sat in silence for a while, listening to the waves break on the shore, and the yelling of campers training. Eventually, Nico said,  
"So, you got a challenge from Athena?"  
I stared at him. "How did you know?"  
He shrugged. "I'm not sure, exactly. Apparently, children of Hades have this…special ability, but I'm the best at it they've seen in a while. It's not mind reading, and it's not like the satyrs either. The theory is that Hades and his children are so linked to souls that we can read other people's animuses. It's a very strange thing, not an exact science. I don't know your thoughts, but I know what you _are_ right now, if that makes any sense."  
"I guess. Why didn't you mention this last summer?"  
"You didn't need me to. And I wasn't very good at it anyway," he stated matter-of-factly.  
"So what…am…I right now?"  
"Right now, you're very high-strung and trying to figure out what to do about the challenge. That's easy, by the way. Take it."  
"Easy? Take it?"  
"Yeah, what's the worst that could happen?"  
"Well, either losing or—"  
He finished my sentence. "Or being forced to hurt Annabeth." I must have looked surprised, because he smiled a little and said,  
"I told you. Anyway, I wouldn't be losing if I were you, and if you're concerned about _her_…well, she's having the same thoughts."  
"You can hear her all the way from here?"  
"No, the person has to be fairly close, but I, uh, went spy this morning, let's say." He got a mischievous twinkle in his eye when he said this, like he was already planning his next mission.  
"O-kay," I said slowly.  
"Just take it," he said. "Trust me. I have to go, but I'll be back soon. I wouldn't miss the chance to be your second."  
He rubbed his ring while muttering something, and slowly dissolved into mist.

***

I was suited up (1/2 armor, standard combat), and ready to go. With Riptide at the ready, and the traditional sash of Poseidon, I should have been feeling confident. Instead, I was miserable. I had barely slept at all the last two nights, and when I did, my dreams were terrible. They weren't the prophetic kind, but nightmares all the same.  
"It'll be okay," Nico said, breaking into my thoughts. "Just fight."  
"What _are_ they right now?"  
"Uh…" he closed his eyes, concentrating, "The oldest girl—"  
"Trix."  
"Yeah, she's not happy. Her second hopes Annabeth won't get hurt, but he wants to fight me. He's the best swordsperson in the cabin besides Annabeth. The young ones are worried about Annabeth, but excited to see you fight. None of them are happy about something last night…I can't feel it now. And Annabeth herself, um…"  
"Yes?"  
"She's, ah, feeling rather nauseous. Oh!" He yelped like someone had stuck a pin in him.  
"What?"  
"Oh, erm, nothing. Nothing important."  
"_Nico,_"  
He answered reluctantly, "One of the Athenas suddenly brought up last night. Apparently it wasn't a happy time. Annabeth slapped one of her brothers."  
I grimaced. Neither of us would be in prime fighting condition. Perhaps that was for the best, though.  
"Thanks," I told Nico. He shrugged.

We were waiting under one of the arches in the arena. The Athenas were directly across from us. Chiron would be the official for the match. The Athenas had requested a private challenge, so no one was watching, but by the sound of it the whole camp was gathered right outside the doors. We had less than a minute before the fight actually started, and I knew I had to get my game on. This fight was real, and I had to win.  
"Seconds, take your places!" Chiron announced.  
Nico gave me a hi-five, and marched out into the arena. Apparently Malcolm was Annabeth's second. He'd caught Annabeth and me in an awkward hug last summer, but I barely knew him.

They both drew their swords, one bronze and one black, and saluted before taking their positions.

"Challengers, present yourselves!"

I walked out into the arena. Annabeth didn't look like she'd gotten anymore sleep than I had, but her face was like stone. I tried my best to copy it. We held up our swords, then turned to face each other. Her eyes were flat grey today. No sparkle, no emotion. No life.

"You know the rules. No outside interference allowed, all use of powers in acceptable. No magic items. On my mark. Three, two…one!"

Annabeth attacked first. Her blade was about the same length as mine, so it was pretty even. She went directly for my shoulder, but I parried easily and went on defense. She came at me again, but her moves were guarded, like her heart wasn't in it. She sliced down on my arm, but I caught it and almost disarmed her. Then, barely moving her mouth, she said,  
"You've been working on that," Her voice was as emotionless as her eyes.  
I was so surprised, she almost got in a shot at my leg, but I countered with a slice at her waist, which she fended off. Recovering fast, I said back,  
"Yeah."  
Strike, parry, back again. We hadn't even gotten near.  
"You don't look so good," she said.  
"Neither do you."  
"This isn't much fun, is it?"  
"No."  
She came down hard on my sword, and it took all my strength to bounce her back off.  
"In case you're wondering," she said, grunting when the flat of my blade smacked her, "It wasn't my idea for a challenge."  
"Whose was it?"  
"My mother's."  
I remembered thinking when I first got the challenge that it was a strategy worthy of their mother. It was, perfect and insane. My guard faltered for a second, and Annabeth lunged. My body thought for me, except it didn't think right. I cut a deep gash on her left forearm. It wasn't life threatening, but serious enough. I heard her hiss in pain, but she kept fighting. When I spoke again, my voice sounded a bit chocked.  
"Sorry."  
She didn't respond, on the defensive now. She knew just as well as I did that I now had the advantage, and she was determined not to let me use it. She jabbed at me, but it was easy to fend off. We circled warily, mirroring each other's moves. Then she dove at me, tripping me up when I tried to sidestep. We landed side by side, looking at each other. For a brief second, her guard slipped, and her eyes flared with pain, but she got her act together fast. I scrambled to my feet, but she just lay there for a second, her arm still bleeding freely. I wasn't fooled, and got ready for another attack, which came pretty quickly. She leapt to her feet and exploded on me, attacking wildly. I attacked back with the same ferocity. We had both lost it. She cut me on the shoulder, but I barely felt it, even as the blood soaked my shirt. My senses switched to hero mode, and before I knew it, I had Annabeth pressed against the wall, my sword at her throat. We were so close, our noses were almost touching. If I had so much as twitched my hand, it would have killed her. We stared at each other for a long moment, feeling the energy ebb as quickly as it had come. Our hearts were beating so fast, you would think we were rabbits. Slowly I brought Riptide down and stepped away. What had I done?

"Perseus is the victor! Victory for Poseidon!"  
In the back of my mind, I heard the cheers and boos from the crowd outside the gates, and absently wondered who was making which noise. Annabeth slowly sank into a sitting position against the wall, as if her legs wouldn't hold her. She looked very small, and very scared. I wondered what Athena would have to say, and shuddered. Suddenly, I got an idea. The thought of explaining it to Dad made me gulp, but I had to do it.  
"Wait!" I yelled, running into the middle of the arena. "I renounce the victory! It was a tie!" Annabeth's head jerked up. Chiron sounded baffled as he said,  
"Are you sure, Perseus? It was a clear victory."  
"I'm sure. I release the children of Athena from their challenge. It was a tie."  
Chiron's eyes softened as he said, "Very well then, Perseus. It is a tie." He clopped up to me, and put a hand on my shoulder. His ageless eyes were very kind, almost sad. "In all my millennia of teaching, I've never met a hero such as you, Percy. I am very proud of you, and I hope your father will be too." Then he slowly clopped away. I looked around for Annabeth and her family, but they were already gone.

"Percy," Nico said, coming up behind me. I could tell he was fighting it, but his face was twisted in pain, probably from reading me. "It's over," he said simply.

And that's when I started to cry.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Predictably, Dad wasn't happy.

I got the summons again later that afternoon. After being comatose in my cabin for most of the afternoon, getting my act together was hard. I knew almost for a fact that Poseidon was going to be angry. There was a very definite possibility that he would turn me into some clown fish and never bother with me again. It was hard to rack up the courage I would need to stand up to him. Following the glowing trident, it lead me to the small fountain in the Big House basement. The iris-message was waiting for me. I knelt like last time, and the room seemed to spin. Then I heard,  
"Rise, Perseus," and I opened my eyes.  
Once again, we were in the map room. It was so strange to be back here; the power just in this tiny room was incredible. I stood up, but kept my head bowed in deference. Poseidon didn't look happy in the least. I wondered in Chiron had been joking earlier. There was no way Dad would understand, much less be proud of me.  
"You have made a strange decision, my son."  
"I know."  
"You had the perfect opportunity to gain new, powerful allies, yet you passed it up."  
"I know."  
His green eyes burned into me. "Why?"  
"Because," I faltered, "Dad, please hear me out. I had to. I didn't mean any direct disobedience, but the girl I was fighting—"  
"Annabeth Chase. Athena's favorite daughter."  
I started in surprise. I'd never heard that before, but it made sense. Why had Annabeth never brought it up? "Well, yes. If I had taken the victory, Athena would have severely punished her, maybe even renounced her. By declaring the match a tie, I gave us both more options."  
"But why?"  
I stared at him silently, ready to be turned into a sea turtle at any moment, when a strange tinkly sound came from the corridor. It took me a second to realize it was a woman's laugh. Dad groaned. I didn't understand why, until the woman slinked into the room, followed by a cloud of pink. This time, she wore a satiny blue dress that skimmed the floor. Just like last time, her mere presence seemed to make my heart speed up, and my mind freeze. The goddess of love had arrived.

"What are _you_ doing here?" growled Dad at Aphrodite.  
She just laughed again, and said in a teasing voice, "Now, now, is that any way to talk to a lady? I think not." Turning her attention to me, she said, "Hello, Percy. My, my, how you've grown. And how handsome! Surely you must have many admirers."  
"No ma'am," I said politely, careful not to look at her face. Aphrodite scared me worse than even Zeus, although I'd never tell him that. Her power is so forceful, and so destructive, that it could cause more damage than Zeus's master bolt. She was not someone I wanted to offend.  
"Well, then," she said, sounding hurt as if I'd personally insulted her, "I just might have to fix that." I started to protest, but Dad cut me off.  
"Enough," he said, "What is your business, Aphrodite?"  
"Oh, I just wanted to hear about this new little development in my favorite couple's soap opera. Seems I came in at a perfect moment."  
"Favorite couple?!" I exploded, losing control. "Soap opera?!"  
"Yes, dear. I've been watching you two very closely, and it has been most entertaining. You're better than Hephaestus reality TV!"  
I blushed scarlet, though whether in anger or embarrassment I wasn't sure. Dad looked at me for a second, then back at Aphrodite.  
"This has to do with Athena's daughter, doesn't it?"  
I blushed harder, staying silent. Aphrodite piped up for me.  
"Oh yes. Percy and his little girlfriend---"  
"She's not my girlfriend."  
"Whatever, dear. Anyway, they are simply precious. I haven't seen such a pair since Helen and Paris. They were my favorite, but you two come seriously close to challenging them. Oh, it's too cute!"  
I stared at the floor, hoping that Athena wouldn't hear about this. Or my mom.  
"And listen to this!" Aphrodite gushed on. "One of my daughters even came up with a shipping for you two. Percabeth! How cute!"  
"_Percabeth?" _I muttered, eyes trained on the floor, and praying with all my being that this would be over soon.  
"You are not wanted here, Aphrodite," Dad said. "If you have nothing important to say, Percy and I have important matters to discuss. In private."  
"Fine, then," Aphrodite huffed. "I'm out of here. But keep up the good work, Percy. Oh, you are just too cute!" I turned away as she revealed her immortal form and disappeared. Poseidon muttered a curse under his breath, then looked at me. My face felt so hot I was surprised it hadn't turned to ashes.  
"So," he said coolly, "Percabeth."  
I glared out the window.  
"You love this Annabeth?"  
"Maybe," I said sullenly.  
"That is why you declared it a tie? For the love of this girl?"  
I was silent. He looked at me for a long moment, then…smiled. I looked up, confused.  
"Love is a powerful feeling, Percy. Dangerous, too. But I think you made the right choice, son. I'm proud of you."  
My pulse raced. What was going on?  
"You're not…angry?"  
"Percy, do you know the story of Theseus?"  
"He killed the Minotaur with Ariadne's help, but then left her on Naxos."  
"Yes. My children have always been…restless when it comes to love. Many tragedies have been at their hands. Traditionally, any hero of my blood was labeled a heart-breaker. Theseus, your many-centuries older brother, is a classic example. My daughters too were often unfaithful. It was not in their nature to be cruel, but they simply did not like to be pinned down. But you, Perseus. You might be different. I hope you will be. But never forget your fatal flaw." He gave me a meaningful look, and I remembered when Athena had told me that my fatal flaw was my personal loyalty. I didn't see how that was a bad thing, but the Olympians were convinced I was especially dangerous because of it.  
"Love, my son," Dad continued, "but love wisely." He chuckled. "Wisely. Annabeth may be a better match for you than you think. Now go. I wish you the best fate."  
I nodded, then looked around the room a little longingly. The first time I had been in my father's court, and I had to leave so soon. But there was much more work to be done before I would have time for visiting. So, reluctantly, I knelt. When I opened my eyes after the now-familiar swirling sensation, I was back in the Big House, feeling thoroughly embarrassed, and extremely confused.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

It was official. There was going to be a quest. And I was (probably) going to lead it.

Just a few minutes ago, the results had been announced, and the crushing majority wanted a quest. Most people just wanted to get the vote over with. There had been a lot of cheering, hugging, laughing, and even a little crying after Chiron had released the results. It had been a tense two weeks. The camp had almost split in half. Everybody was just glad that we could go back to at least semi-normal. What is normal when an evil titan lord is planning the destruction of humanity any day now? After Chiron made the announcement, he called a meeting of cabin leaders that was going to start soon. Looking at the clock and realizing I was late; I cursed and dashed out the door.

"So," Beckendorf said in his deep voice, "what are we going to do about a quest?" We were all gathered around the table in the Big House like usual. Chiron sat in wheelchair form at the head of the table. Beckendorf and Silena sat together, with Diantha from Demeter and Clarisse next to them. Travis and Connor were actually paying attention for once, listening intently. Cory from Apollo was sitting with Annabeth, and I was next to Pollux from Dionysus and Nico, who'd shown up in the nick of time. I tried to stare Annabeth into looking at me, but she was preoccupied with whispering to Cory. Nico shoved me under the table.

"Well," Chiron said, rapping on the table for attention, "I think it is obvious who should lead this quest."  
Everyone stared at me except Annabeth, who suddenly found the table very interesting.  
"Hold on a sec," Clarisse butted in. "What if Thalia or Nico should lead it? They're children of the Big Three too."  
"Aw," Connor taunted under his breath, "Clarisse is jealous."  
"SHUT UP for once!" she yelled at him.  
Chiron frowned sternly. "Now, both of you. Clarisse's concern is legitimate, but Percy is the closest to 16. Since Thalia joined the Hunters, she is now immortal at one day before 16, therefore excluding her from the prophecy. Nico is..."  
"Eleven," Nico supplied.  
"eleven," Chiron finished. "Too young to be the prophecy child. Percy it is."  
Clarisse seemed to accept this, though she sent me a dirty look.  
"So?" said Travis. "Should we get a prophecy?"  
"A wise idea, Travis," Chiron said. "Percy, assuming you come back all in one piece, we will be waiting."  
I nodded, and headed upstairs.

I've only heard the oracle speak twice. Even though I knew what to expect, climbing the narrow staircase to the attic freaked me out just as much as my first time. Pushing open the trapdoor, I saw the familiar mementos that half-bloods had stored up here in the past. It was haphazard, not organized at all. It made me sad to see the old, broken weapons that had cost demigods their lives. The strange, severed monster heads and various cursed objects only helped add to the already-creepy atmosphere. And then there was the oracle herself.

She was still in that weird criss-cross position that Grover and I had left her in after we hauled her back up here. Last winter, she had decided to pay Zoë Nightshade a personal call, but hadn't carried herself back. Guess who got the honors. Note my sarcasm.

Her faded tye-dye dress still hung limply about her withered shoulders. I shuddered as I faced her for the first time in months. However, this time she didn't even wait for my question before the green smoke came pouring out. Also, surprisingly, it stayed green smoke. In the past, it had always taken on some sort of form, but not this time. It gave the feeling that even _she_ didn't know what to think. Her dry, ropy voice snaked its way inside my head.

"_With the sea in the lead_

_Owl by his side_

_Questers seek Gods_

_Who have been told to hide_

_The Wise One is proud_

_As the innocent goes down_

_A monster freed_

_Three powers lead_

_Love and blood_

_A bronze sword_

_A demigod saved_

_By a single word"_

Feeling thoroughly unnerved, I turned to leave, but the oracle's voice spoke again.

"_Wait, I'm not finished..."_

She quickly sucked the smoke back in, then spewed it out. Again, it stayed in an indistinct green puddle. Her voice came again,

"_An oath is broken_

_A child is born_

_The fates strings_

_Are unsure and torn_

_Great is this hero's chance_

_To save Olympus at 16_

_Possibly his or her final dance_

_The rise of the Titan King_

_Will be the heralding ring_

_Two demigods above_

_A binding love_

_Futures like these are indistinct_

_But the Olympian Council_

_Had better think quick"_

A small feeling of dread started to bubble up inside me. The smoke retreated, and I didn't stick around for more. Nearly tripping over my own feet, I dashed out of the room and down the steps.

Panting and out of breath, I barged into the room. All heads swiveled towards me expectantly.  
"Well?" Cory said.  
"I, ah...I actually got two prophecies."  
"_Two?_" Chiron said. "I've never heard her to give two prophecies at once before. Tell us, Percy."  
"Well, the first one started,

_With the sea in the lead_

_Owl by his side_

_Questers seek Gods_

_Who have been told to hide—_"

Diantha piped up. "Well, sea and owl, that's you and Annabeth."  
I turned to Annabeth, dreading the question I was about to ask. Her cheeks turned faintly pink. "Will you come?" She looked at me for a long second, then rolled her eyes in disbelief.  
"No _duh_, Seaweed Brain," she said, but I thought I saw her trying to smother a smile. I had mixed feelings on her answer. There was no one I'd rather have by my side while questing, not only because she was my friend, but she was a strong fighter and, of course, came up with brilliant plans that usually saved the day. But this quest would be very different. I expected we would be confronting Luke/Kronos, and I was almost certain he would try to manipulate her. Not only did I not want that to happen for her sake, but if she got all emotional, she could become a liability, and anything that slowed us down was ix-nay.

Chiron cut in, "As far as the gods who must hide…that's harder. It probably means minor gods, as the major ones are all present on Mt. Olympus. As we know, many of the minor gods have turned to the Titan Lord's side, so if you were to seek them out…it could be very dangerous."  
"Isn't it always dangerous?" Beckendorf said. "Go on, Percy."  
"Um,

_The Wise One is proud_

_As the innocent goes down—_"

"The Wise One!" Annabeth exclaimed, cutting me off yet again. "That's my mother! But who is the innocent?" No one had an answer to that.

"Is that it?" Chiron asked. "It does not sound complete."

"It's not. Both prophecies were unusually long. The last part goes like,

_A monster freed_

_Three powers lead_

Uh…"

I hesitated, wondering if I should say about the love part. I didn't want to, but Chiron was looking at me sternly, remembering past experiences where I've kept parts of m prophecies from him. I continued reluctantly,

"_Love and blood_

_A bronze sword_

_A demigod saved_

_By a single word"_

Everyone was silent for a second, digesting this. Finally, Cory said,

"Who's the demigod?"

No one said anything, but I got a lot of sideways looks. Did they think it would be me? I was glad Silena kept quiet, though.

"What about the other prophecy?" Clarisse asked.

"Um…

_An oath is broken_

_A child is born_

_The fates strings_

_Are unsure and torn_

_Great is this hero's chance_

_To save Olympus at 16_

_Possibly his or her final dance_

_The rise of the Titan King_

_Will be the heralding ring_

_Two demigods above_

_A binding love_

_Futures like these are indistinct_

_But the Olympian Council_

_Had better think quick"_

"Well," said Travis, "who knew the oracle had a sense of humor?" We all glared at him. I realized Chiron hadn't spoken.

"Chiron, do you know what it means?" I said, although I got the feeling I already knew.

"Yes, Percy," he said softly, "It is your original prophecy."

Silence.

***

"That's it?" someone said.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Chiron replied.

My head was spinning. All these years, _this_ was my prophecy?

"They aren't great prophecies," Clarisse said. "You don't really know what you're supposed to be questing for."

"Oh, oh!" Silena exclaimed. "But a binding love! How romantic!" She sighed longingly, and Beckendorf shoved her under the table. "What?" she said. Everyone looked at her, including me.  
"Yes, they do," Pollux objected, returning to the earlier subject. "It said they would, '_seek gods that had been told to hide.' _And then Chiron said those were the minor gods."  
"But which minor gods? And why?"

"The biggest supporters of the Titan Lord are Morpheus, Hecate, Nemesis, and Janus," Chiron said. "But the why—"

Nico stood up. The why _I_ can answer. May I, Chiron?"

"Go ahead."

Nico spent the next ten minutes explaining his plan, the same one he had revealed to me just a few days ago. Everyone listened silently, their full attention fixed on him.  
"And so," Nico concluded, "it fits together perfectly. Percy, Annabeth, and whoever else is going is looking for the scythe, which must be with one of the minor gods. Once they have it, they'll bring it down to the Underworld, and my father and I will freeze it in the river Styx, trapping Kronos's animus so the gods can seal him up in Tartarus!"

"It's a great plan, Nico," Annabeth said. "Perfect. But what if it's too perfect? Kronos may be trying to trick us again."

"Do we have any other choice?" I volleyed back. "It _does_ make sense."

"Just saying."

"What about the people going on the quest?" Cory asked. He sent a worried look in Annabeth's direction that for some reason made me uncomfortable, but I pushed it away.  
"Percy and Annabeth are in the prophecy. Nico is going because it's his idea, and you'll need him later," Chiron said.

"So, who else?" Cory said impatiently.

I was about to answer, when a breeze floated through the room. It was cold and wild, like it had just come from a forest in Alaska. Everyone felt it at once, and we all stood up at the same time, like puppets on a string.

"What was—" Clarisse started, but when another breeze swept through the room, stronger than before, Annabeth hissed,

"Shh!"

We all waited, every sense on alert. The silence in the air was almost tangible. Then, from a long way off, the lone howl of a wolf cut through the muggy August air. Annabeth gasped, and dashed out the door. We all followed, and I drew Riptide just in case.

I got outside just in time to see a silver blur streaking down Half-Blood Hill, and coming close to the Big House. Annabeth backed off, giving the blur space to slow down. Satyrs were gathering near, talking in excited whispers. The dryads melted out of their trees and came to see what all the fuss was about.

"If it attacks," Clarisse yelled out, "everyone into formation Sparta."

Annabeth didn't say anything, but shook her head. I agreed. While this blur didn't exactly seem safe, it didn't mean us harm, either. The blur came to an abrupt halt, sending up a whirlwind of dust. When the air cleared, there was a girl sitting on the back of a huge white wolf. Annabeth grinned, and practically attacked the girl in a hug. It was only when I heard the girl laugh, and saw the electric blue flash of her eyes, did I realize Thalia had arrived.

"Hey," Thalia laughed, pretending to stagger, "it's not like I just got back from Hades, Annabeth."

"Actually," I said, putting Riptide away, "you did."

She smile/scowled at me and said in mock-annoyance, "I had been trying to forget that, thank you very much." But her eyes shone as she gave me a quick hug. Her wolf growled softly behind her, but she turned to it and said,

"Oh, don't worry. He's just a friend."

I blinked. "You can speak wolf?"

She looked at me, unfazed. "You can talk to fish."

"Point taken."

She gave the wolf a pat on the back. "This is Astro, my main wolf." Astro yelped once, and held up a paw. I shook it, except it was no simple dog trick. Behind those black eyes, there was the intelligent look of a thinking, talking animal. I got the sense that Astro was every bit as smart as we were, really even more so.

"So, I hear we have a quest to go on. Saving the world, or something like that," she said casually. I couldn't help but smile.

"Something like that, yeah. You in?"

"Absolutely. Who else is going?"

"Annabeth, Nico, and..." I looked over at Grover, and he grinned, "and Grover," I finished.

"So, they're bringing in the Dream Team now," she said cockily. "It's about time. When do we leave?"

I looked over at Chiron. "I thought it would be best tomorrow morning," he said. I was about to respond, when we heard a cry. Looking around, we saw Annabeth's oldest sister, Trix, running towards us. When she stopped, she was gasping for breath. I thought she was chocking until I realized she was crying. Annabeth put her arms around her comfortingly until she could speak. Taking a deep breath, she gently shook Annabeth off, and took something out of her pocket. It was a golden armband.

"What is this, child?" Chiron asked. "What is wrong?"

"I was looking for Kevin a few minutes ago," she started, "I wasn't worried until I saw this on his bunk. He's missing," she added, tears welling up in her eyes again, "and they've taken him."

Annabeth looked horrified. Over the shoulder of her sobbing sister, our eyes met for the first time since the fight. One look at her, and I knew we were thinking the same thing.

"Chiron," I said, trying to keep my voice steady, "I think we need to leave _now_."


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own MapQuest. I also do not own Artemis Fowl.  
A/N: There is an Artemis Fowl reference in here. See if you can find it!

Chapter 15

"Hold up," said Diantha. "How do you know they _took_ him?"

Trix whirled on her, eyes red from crying. "How do you think? And my brother is NOT a traitor. No one in my family would ever, ever..." she broke off again. Annabeth put a hand on her shoulder.

"No one ever said we were," she said soothingly. "But why would they want Kevin?"

"If Kronos's spies have taken him," I said slowly, thinking out loud, "he must be important. This is the Titans' first strike."

"Guys," Thalia said impatiently. "Time's wasting. Let's get packed up and go."

"But we don't know where we're going!" Nico argued. "How are we supposed to get directions? It's not like we can MapQuest 'Minor Gods' in our area!"

"Or maybe we can," Annabeth said quietly. Everyone turned. "Children of Athena are endowed with a special blessing. We are able to call on Zephyr, the West Wind, for directions and transport. He has seen everything in the West; he must know where the Minor Gods are."

I stared at her. "How come you didn't mention this until now?"

"That's not important," she snapped. I was about to give a sharp retort, when Thalia cut me off with an evil look.

"How many times can you call Zephyr?" she asked Annabeth.

"Three, I think. I could—"

"There's no time to look it up," I interjected. "Let's get packed. We should probably travel by Pegasus if a Wind will be our guide. I'll get the horses. Annabeth, call up Zephyr. Everyone back here in fifteen minutes."

***

_Yo, boss. Ready to fly?_ I heard in my mind as I neared the stables.

"It's time, buddy. This could be the big one."

_Just say the word, boss, _he whinnied._ How many handsome beasts this time?_

"I think three would be good. And Blackjack, how many times have I asked you not to call me 'boss'?"

Blackjack just snorted, and called to the other pegasai, _Hey, Porkpie, Guido. How would you like to be heroes?_

_Anything for the #1, _they responded, then Guido, _Although I hope the Cyclopes is staying home._

"No, he's not coming," I replied, but the question made me uneasy. I hadn't been in touch with Tyson for a while now. I wished he could come with us, but I already had four companions. And to tell the truth, I didn't want to push it. Chiron hadn't said anything, but I could tell he was anxious. Not to mention the other campers. I didn't blame them. The future of the world rested on two guys, two girls, and a satyr, and right now, it didn't look so good. I didn't let the pegasai hear that, though. As I got them saddled, they chattered excitedly in my mind.

_Where are we off to this time, boss?_

"I'm not sure."

_Not sure? We don't know where 'not sure' is!_

"S'Okay. Somehow Annabeth is going to get Zephyr directions."

_The wind in our faces, and a challenge between our teeth. This is the life, boss._

"We're ready. Come on," I said, my heart suddenly pounding. I tried to hide it from the pegasai, but I couldn't help but think, _this would be the life...if we knew we would get back alive..._

***

_Whoa, boss,_ Blackjack whinnied nervously, _Not good._

"What's not good?"

He flared his nostrils, scenting the air. _Smells like, like..._

"Like me, perhaps?" said a booming, echoey voice. It sounded like a young guy messing with his voice on the computer. I looked around to see who it was, but there was no one. Only me, my quest party, and Chiron seemed to be able to hear it, anyway.

"Hello?" I called out uneasily. A light breeze seemed to whip around my body, coming from nowhere.

"No need to use words with me, Son of the Sea God," the voice said. "Thoughts will suffice."

"Guys," Annabeth called, "I'd like you to meet Zephyr, the West Wind. Our guide. Zephyr, this is Percy, Thalia, Nico, and Grover. And of course, Blackjack and the others."

We awkwardly stuck our hands out, unsure of how to shake hands with a wind. He didn't seem to mind, though, and only laughed as he played through our fingers.

"A rare treat I have this time," he mused, "The Big Three heroes together. Well, well."

"Um, everyone?" Thalia said impatiently. "If we're going to go, shouldn't we, y'know, go?"

"Absolutely right, Miss Hunter. Not a second to lose. All aboard that's going aboard."

Thalia hugged her wolf goodbye (which I thought was kind of weird), and climbed on Blackjack behind me. Annabeth and Grover shared Porkpie, and Nico got Guido. Guido was a good sport about it, too, but he wrinkled his nose in distaste. Nico didn't seem to mind. Zephyr explained that he would be guiding the pegasai from below, underneath their wings, so we only had to hang on, and enjoy the ride.

" Chiron," I shouted as the pegasai started to buffet the air, testing for take-off, "would you tell my mom what's going on? And—"

"Rest assured, Percy. She will be taken care of if---"

Neither one of us could say it. _If you die. _There was every possibility that this quest could be my last. That we would fail, ensuring the collapse of modern civilization. But as Blackjack yelled, _TAKEOFF!, _swooping into the cloudless September sky, with all of us whooping and laughing like we hadn't done this a million times before, I was thinking, _sometimes being a demigod isn't so bad._

_***  
_

"Hey," said Thalia, shaking my shoulder. "Wake up, sleepy. We're almost there."

Groggily I opened my eyes. "Almost...where?"

"An island. Just off the Northern tip of Maine. Home of Hecate," Zephyr interrupted.

"Wonderful," I muttered as the pegasai started to descend. We landed with a thud on a rocky beach. It was raining as we stiffly slipped off the pegasai, and tried to work the circulation back into our legs. It had been a long flight, tiring for Blackjack.

_Remember that ton of hay, boss? I could use that now._

"Haven't got it on me right now, buddy. We might be able to find something here, though. Just make sure it's not enchanted. Hecate _is _the goddess of witchcraft, after all."

_Thanks a lot. I just lost my appetite._

"What about you, Zephyr?" I asked. "Are you with us?"

"I have other business. Duty calls. But whistle three times, and I'll be there. Only two more times, though. Farewell." His voice, which had been getting softer and softer, now blew away on the breeze. Blackjack nuzzled me, then he and the other pegasai took off after him. We were alone.


End file.
